Hidden
by Bar-Ohki
Summary: AU- Hiruma Youichi isn’t entirely human. Few are aware of this, and Hiruma himself is not among that number….
1. Hidden Within the Shrine

Author's Note: Although this is my first time writing an Eyeshield 21 fanfiction, it is by no means my first time writing fanfiction. I do not expect anyone to be going easy on me. Though, I'd rather not have flames (unless you are telling my _why_ it sucks, then by all means go right ahead). I hope you enjoy this story.

Disclaimer (this is the only time I will post this, so don't go suing me because its not there in later chapters): I am a poor, under-funded, college student. Do I seem like someone who had the money associated with owning Eyeshield 21? Good, because I don't own it and probably never will.

Summary: Alternate Universe. Hiruma Youichi isn't entirely human. Few are aware of this, and Hiruma himself is not among that number….

Rating: T- for foul language, crude humor, and violence.

Hidden

By: Bar-Ohki

Chapter 1: Hidden Within the Shrine

Kurita Ryoukan was a large boy, rounded from several large meals, powered by several long hours of practice. His family owned a large shrine dedicated to Buddha. Though Kurita himself was not religious, he was always very respectful to the almighty. It was a special day for Kurita, he was bringing his new friend and teammate, Hiruma Youichi, to his home.

"Fucking traditional." Hiruma grunted at the shrine, he was not known for his kind words. Hiruma was a thin boy, with pointed ears, bleach blond hair, and fanged teeth. He had a devilish personality that often made many wonder how he and Kurita could possibly become friends.

"My dad says this is the way it looked when they originally built it." Kurita commented in good humor, knowing that Hiruma would probably say something mean in return, but that's what he always did.

"…Whatever." Hiruma shrugged, bored with the topic of conversation.

"Here, I'll show you my room!" Kurita quickly popped his shoes off and began to dash forward in glee.

"Yah, yah." Hiruma muttered absently as he took his own shoes off slowly. In his mind, there was no reason to be hurrying about anything. After relieving himself of his shoes, Hiruma quietly followed his massive friend around the maze-like shrine. The wood did seem ancient and powerful, it made Hiruma shiver unconsciously.

Kurita's father coughed politely as the two boys walked by. Both stopped and turned to face the tall, powerful monk.

"Oh! Dad, this is Hiruma Youichi, my friend from school." Kurita explained quickly. "Hiruma, this is my dad."

"Hello." Hiruma said flatly, nodding his head politely to the man. Though Hiruma was known for being rude, he saw no reason to be pissing off the father of a teammate.

"…Hello Youichi-kun." Kurita's father greeted the boy carefully. He studied the young, devilish child. "Are you planning to stay for dinner?"

"No sir, today is a short visit." Hiruma answered quickly.

"Very well then." Kurita's father nodded to both boys and walked off in another direction.

"Huh, he's usually not that serious…." Kurita muttered, puzzled.

"Feh! Adults are always like that." Hiruma rolled his eyes. "Now where's this football book you've been babbling about?"

"Oh! Right!" And Kurita and Hiruma wandered further into the shrine.

**-break-**

After Hiruma had left with a 'see you later, fatty', Kurita found himself sitting in one of the shrine's innermost rooms across from his father. The monk was deadly serious.

"Ryoukan, are you aware of the danger you just brought within these walls earlier today?" His father frowned in deadly seriousness.

"Eh? Hiruma-san can be a little scary, but-" Kurita moved to defend his friend.

"He's a half-Succubus." Kurita's father interrupted. "His very presence eats at the wards in these walls."

"But there aren't-" Kurita protested.

"He's the only one of his kind." The monk explained softly. "Buddha only knows why his mother choose to leave him with his human father."

"…So I can't play football with Hiruma now?" Kurita was deeply upset by the notion.

"I don't mind it if you play with him. Just don't invite him here again." Kurtia's father laughed. "His presence eats magic, it will do more harm than good within these walls."

"Oh! I see." Kurita nodded, then paused. "Is there anything else?"

"No, he's a just normal human otherwise." The monk assured his son.

**-break-**

"My son was here." Hiruma Yuuchi stated, looking the shrine up and down.

"Yes, a play visit." Kurita the monk nodded, looking tired.

Hiruma sighed. "I know he's not aware he's doing it, but cleaning up after him is getting very tiring." With that the man raised his hands up to the wall of the shrine and began quietly chanting. After a long while his hands and the walls lit up with a light blue glow. It vanished after a moment.

"I'd rather be dealing with a son that sucks magic out of the world around him than one that sucks out life essence." Kurita the monk remarked casually.

"I suppose it _is_ the lesser of the two evils." Hiruma commented off-handedly. "I just wish I had paid more attention when I met his _mother_." The last word was spat with enough venom to kill a man in seconds.

"Succubus are notorious for being temptresses." Kurita muttered sympathetically.

"I just wish they'd have let me get rid of him." Hiruma glared at some past memory.

"We often wish for things we do not want." The monk remarked wisely.

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I will now apologize for not having a beta. Please review, it would make my day.


	2. Hidden Within the Family

Author's Note: The last chapter was back when Hiruma and Kurita were still in middle school, now we have a time skip to the 'present' where everyone is in high school in their first/second years respectively. There are some 'technical' terms in this story (these words are usually capitalized nouns), don't worry, I'll have a character explain it later on in the chapter it appears in.

The Story So Far: The last chapter was too short for me to put something here….

To JustinBlue: I hope you do not mind pardoning my jumbled reply to your review. I will address your points as they appeared in chorological order, though sadly, I have habitually never attempted to make a review reply flow with any decency, mainly because I try to keep things short when it comes to replies, especially ones directed at anonymous reviewers that have to be written into the story itself. Oh, yes, I do very much plan to continue this story. And thank you for critiquing my writing; I was a little nervous (having not written anything that was _not_ an engineering report in over a year) and decided to keep it simple. I'll try to play a little more with the language now. As a reader I do often tire of reading 2-dimensional Hirumas; he is arguably the most complicated character in Eyeshield and a 2-dimensional portrayal does him absolutely no justice. Where this is going and what I plan do to with this are things you will see in good time, I hope you plan to stick around to see it. Thank you for reviewing!

Hidden

By: Bar-Ohki

Chapter 2: Hidden Within the Family

_'There are three kinds of humans in this world,'_ a young boy by the name of Kobayakawa Sena mused, '_and all three are represented at the dinner table.'_

"Sena, dear, could you pass the rice?" Sena's mother, Mihae, asked politely.

"S-sure!" Sena handed her the rice bowl quickly, his musings having distracted him from the rest of the world for a moment.

"Don't you have another game coming up son?" Shiyuma, Sena's father, asked.

"Yeah, this Saturday." Sena nodded. Sena was a runningback for his high school's football team, the Deimon Devil Bats. Right now the Devil Bats were in the middle of a large tournament, the Kantou Tournament more specifically. Setting football aside, Sena looked at his mother as he returned to his musings.

_'Mom's a Mage,'_ Sena's eyes quickly veered over to his father, _'Dad's a normal human. And then there's me-'_

Sena sighed with a small smile, _'-a Sensitive.'_

"Do you two plan to go and pray this Sunday?" Shiyuma directed the question at his wife. "I was wondering if the two of you could take a break so that we could go to the fair that's in town."

Shiyuma, like most, as Sena puts them, normal humans, is completely oblivious to the magical and supernatural world around him. As near as the man can tell, he has an enthusiastic wife and a shy son (who somehow became the ace for his high school football team) that like to go and pray every Sunday. In reality Sena and his mother go to a Gateway Shrine and practice their own special abilities. Gateways are places where the normal people's world and the magical and supernatural world interact.

Mihae paused thoughtfully and looked at her son. "What do you think Sena?"

"I dunno, Hiruma-sempai might have a special practice again…." Sena's voice quivered with unconscious fear. The last time Hiruma, the captain and quaterback of the Devil Bats, had had a special practice the day after a game had not been a pretty sight for all of the people involved (including Hiruma, much to everyone's surprise).

"Are you sure you couldn't skip it once?" Shiyuma had a small, hopeful gleam in his eye (the kind of hopeful gleam a dog gets every time its master is eating food). Though Shiyuma was a man that was easily pushed around by others (he never wants to needlessly inconvenience anyone). He does, occasionally, passionately want something; this was one of those somethings.

"I'll ask tomorrow." Sena assured his father, though on the inside he found himself panicking. He could all too easily imagine his team captain pulling out guns, firing them into the air, while brutally conveying to him that missing practice this close to a match was _not_ an option.

The rest of dinner was continued in a comfortable silence that was broken by Mihae standing up and disappearing into the kitchen only to return with a green canvas bag.

"Oh, Sena could you run this bag down to Mamori-neechan's? Her mother left it here on accident." Mihae handed the bag to her son before he could protest.

"Sure?" Sena never minded running errands for people, he'd been doing it since elementary school without complaint. Though, he never did enjoy having errands thrust upon him on the spur of the moment. Curiously, Sena peeked into the bag and saw what appeared to be random, junk-like knick-knacks. In reality these bits of rusted metal and wood were used in rituals of the arcane that both his mother and his friend's mother practiced. Since neither were terribly powerful, both relied heavily on Mediums to cast what few spells they ever did.

"Thank you." Mihae smiled brightly, not worrying in the slightest that she just handed her son something that, in the right rings of people, was worth well over one million American dollars. Mediums took a verity of shapes and sizes, they could range from a bent piece of scrap metal to a stone as large and impressive as the Hope Diamond (which was a particularly powerful and dangerous Medium). The most important thing about a Medium was not its shape or form, but its power and element. The world was divided roughly into five elements: fire, water, air, earth, and soul. Sena's mother's family had spent generations gathering Mediums, Mamori's family was no different.

Which is exactly why they had to be returned _tonight._

"I'll go right now." Sena assured his mother as he made his way towards the door.

"Be careful!" Mihae wished him as he put his shoes on.

"I always am!" Sena stepped out the door with a laugh. He walked down the small garden path to the street, stopping at the gate of his family home. His mother had warded the house from things like fire, vermin, bad luck, and most importantly, magic. Mages with any ill intent could not cast spells at this house, nor could they use their magic to look into it. Which meant the presence of Mediums in the house would be unnoticed.

Once a Medium was out of the wards' protection, it would be noticed. Sena knew full well that someone was going to try and take the Mediums from him. He was only a Sensitive, a human with bit of magical ability that allowed them to have certain small powers or senses. Typically a Sensitive can tell if an object was or was not a Medium. Powerful Sensitive can tell how powerful a Medium is, and whether or not it had been used recently. Sena was not a Sensitive with senses; he had a special power that was like magic, but definitely not like magic.

_'I hope I don't have to do anything special tonight.'_ Sena wished as he through the gate, out of the wards, and into the cool night. Quickly, he began running, knowing that the less time he had the Mediums in his possession the less likely they could be taken from him.

Just like Sena predicted, a few men came out from a side alley. They looked like they intended to stop him.

_'These men are nothing like Shin-san!'_ Sena reminded himself, his normal sight easing away into what he called 'path sight'. One of Sena's abilities was to be able to See paths around people. Since the men were not particularly fit, Sena sped up and used his usual running speed (40 yards in 4.2 seconds) to rush past the men. The men simply fell to the side, gwaking at the intense speed that Sena could use.

Sena continued to run and found himself again faced with a would-be thief. This one was a woman. Sena shifted into his path sight and saw nothing. He stopped, a bit startled by the situation.

"You are a Sensitive, hmm?" The woman smiled, it was not sweet, it was the kind of smile a predator gives its prey before it kills it.

"…!" Sena took an unconscious step back. _'She's dangerous.'_

"If you hand over the bag, nothing ill will happen to you." The woman purred, attempting to seduce and assure Sena at the same time.

_'I have no choice then.'_ Sena decided, concentrating all of his magic, all of his strength into his legs. _'Hiruma-sempai wasn't wrong when he said I have Golden Legs, because I do.'_ Sena thought wryly. His legs began to give off a soft, golden glow that unmistakenably belonged to a Sensitive with an ability. The woman took a step back and gasped softly, surprised.

Sena picked up his foot and was on the twenty yards past the woman when he touched down on the ground again. Kobayakawa Sena, the man with Golden Legs, could, if he wanted to, walk seven leagues in one step.

"Have a nice day miss!" Sena called over his shoulder and ran off again. The woman simply stared at him, frozen in her amazement.

Sena arrived at the home of Anezaki Mamori, his childhood friend without further incident.

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Please leave a review!


	3. Hidden Amongst Friends

Author's Note: Not really much to say here other than that finals week is approaching. This means my time dedicated to writing will be found in odd places.

The Story So Far: The first two chapters were mainly for the purpose of introductions and laying groundwork while defining some key terms. Now we begin the real plot!

Hidden

By: Bar-Ohki

Chapter 3: Hidden Amongst Friends

The sun rose bright and early, casting picturesque shades of orange, red, and pink. Birds started to chirp, slowly rousing the dormant neighborhood from beneath the realm of sleep. A very beautiful, peaceful morning.

"Fucking monkey!!" The unmistakable sounds of bullets flying from a machine gun and smashing into hard-packed earth followed the loud, irritated cry.

The old woman who lived next door to Deimon Private High School faintly wondered, as she did every morning, what happened to slow, peaceful mornings.

Hiruma Youichi, now a fully grown young man had spiky blond hair, several ear-piercings, and currently a furious expression. His fanged teeth with clicked together so hard it was amazing they didn't brake.

"Well?" The quarterback demanded, staring down at the small, monkey-like receiver.

"Zig-out is when you turn right-" Raimon Tarou, jersey number 80, wide receiver, began only to cut himself off upon seeing the expression on his team captain's face.

"You're fucking **wrong!"** Hiruma released another spray of bullets at Raimon, forcing the boy to scramble away for safety.

"…There was an early practice today?" Sena asked Mamori when they arrived upon the scene. Mamori looked out at the scene with a frown.

"None that I was told about." Mamori's blue eyes narrowed in irritation.

"Sena! Mamori!" Yukimitsu Manabu, a tall boy with a large forehead rushed up to greet the new arrivals. He was wearing his dirtied football uniform.

"Yuki-san!" Sena turned to greet his friend and teammate. "Was there an early practice today?"

"Just for the receivers." Yukimitsu assured the distressed runningback. "Hiruma-san decided it on the spot this morning."

"Fucking baldy! Get back to work!" Hiruma's bellowing voice flew across the field to hit the unsuspecting Yukimitsu on the side of the head.

"Aye!" The studious boy cried and rushed back to the field in a vain hope that he wouldn't become a target for Hiruma's shinny guns. Ah, but such a hope was very vain, Hiruma turned his semi-automatic gun at the poor teen's feet and pulled the trigger.

"Must you always do that!?" Mamori roared, clearly displeased with Hiruma's behavior.

"Fucking manager." The blond quarterback turned and faced her, pretending he just realized she was there. "You've been slacking, you're three minutes late today."

"I had to help my mother with something!" Mamori protested, growling.

"And that 'something' is more important than your job?" Hiruma quirked a doubtful eyebrow at her. "Because last time I checked we have a game this Saturday against that Ballista and Everest Pass."

"Yes it is!" Mamori assured him hotly and turned towards the clubhouse. Mamori had been helping her mother put away the Mediums Sena had brought home the night before. Because Mamori was also a Mage, she had an obligation to seeing that the family Mediums were always well cared for.

Sena rushed out of the clubhouse wearing his uniform. He passed by her with a 'see you on the field!'. Mamori smiled as she finished the rest of the trip to the clubhouse. She went inside and sat down on immediately, feeling slightly dizzy.

_'Why is he always toying with me?'_ She asked herself. When Mamori had first arrived at Deimon, she had felt as though her magic was being constantly drained. It took her a few months, but eventually she realized that the draining was especially bad in the classes she shared with Hiruma. After that realization, Mamori figured out the Hiruma had been the source of her magic depletion. It wasn't until her second year, when she joined the Devil Bats as their manager that there was any relief to the drain. It had taken a few months, but the drain on her was significantly less than what it had been.

Now she just felt a strong sense of dizziness if she got too close to him too quickly. The dizziness was caused by her magic being sucked away in small, yet powerful bursts. Mamori would swear on her mother's Mediums that Hiruma was doing all of this on purpose. She would also swear that he was a deranged Sensitive.

"Are you alright, Mamori-san?" Kurita asked as he walked into the clubhouse.

"Just a little tired." Mamori assured the kind-hearted lineman.

"…Let me know if you need more rest." Kurita nodded and went on into the locker room.

The locker room was not empty, Mushashi, the Devil Bats' kicker was present.

"…How is she holding up?" The adult-looking kicker asked his old friend.

"She's less tired than she has been, but its still wearing her out." Kurita reported with a sigh.

"…Any clue why Hiruma's been eating off of her less?" Mushashi wondered out loud.

"I don't know." Kurita shook his head. "…But I'm pretty sure that Hiruma's not doing it consciously."

"Oh?" The kicker raised an eyebrow.

"Hiruma's never consciously ate any magic as near as I can tell." Kurita explained. "Where he eats at wards and stuff, its just random."

"So he's unconsciously choosing not to eat her." Mushashi mused, his expression thoughtful. "That certainly is a development."

"…I wonder if Mamori-san has noticed." Kurita wondered faintly as he put his shoes on.

Mushashi sweatdropped and faintly wondered just how dumb (or dense) Kurita was.

"I'll go report today's discussion to the Elders." Mushashi announced before Kurita could say anything. "My dad's company was hired to work on their building. I'm supposed to help out after practice."

"Eh? I thought you weren't going to work until after the Christmas Bowl…." Kurita was confused.

"These are Mages, they want wards on the place. Apparently ones that are built into the building are strongest, so they need workers that are aware of magic." Mushashi explained. "They're paying me triple overtime and are willing to fund a new edition to the clubhouse should Hiruma want one…."

"So Hiruma says its okay?" Kurita wanted confirmation.

" 'For now' are his exact words." Mushashi answered with a yawn and a stretch. "Well, its time to go and please the demon."

"Don't you mean Succubus?" Kurita laughed as they left the locker room and headed out towards the field.

"Lunchbox! Old man! What the hell kept you!?" Hiruma demanded, appearing right in their faces.

"Just explaining the new job to him," Mushashi assured Hiruma, "I'll go kick the hell out of myself because it took so long."

"You damn well better!" Hiruma hissed.

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Not a lot of Hiruma today, but there is more to come. Please leave a review!


	4. Hidden Within the Body

Author's Note: At 7:47 this morning I stopped being a teenager. Wow. Thanks to all who reviewed!

The Story So Far: Three chapters of establishing some facts of those who surround Hiruma. Now we get to see what he thinks.

Hidden

By: Bar-Ohki

Chapter 4: Hidden Within the Body

Hiruma walked into the empty locker room. Everyone had left to get to class that morning, everyone except him. He was always a little late for his first class, mainly because he wanted to shower alone in the mornings. It wasn't that he was locker shy, in fact more often than not he changed with the rest of the team in the mornings. For Hiruma it was a matter of principal; showers were sacred times for him. Times were he could wash away all the stray thoughts from his mind that could be distracting for whatever he planned to do that day.

And Hiruma always had plans.

"Aye!" Hiruma let out a girlish squeak when the unexpectedly hot water fell from the faucet onto his skin. He glanced around, a small embarrassed flush on his cheeks. He let out a small sigh of relief when there was no one present.

That would be the other reason he showered alone, he could never get his water temperature right when starting the shower.

"Fucking shower!" Hiruma growled at the knobs, as he ritually did every morning, and fixed the temperature. Once the water was at the right temperature, Hiruma began to relax and leisurely clean off the grim and sweat of a hard football practice.

Hiruma paused when he started to wash behind his ears (a remarkable amount of crap wound up behind them, even with a helmet to protect them). His abnormally long, narrow fingers traced the edge of his ears. They were tall, pointy ears, unlike anything he had seen on anyone else in his life.

Both the doctors and his parents had told him that he was born with slightly deformed ears. Hiruma had always accepted that, there wasn't any reason not too. Besides the pointy ears did add to the demonic image he created for himself.

_'Only one in the family with them.'_ Hiruma thought absently, silently remembering pictures and faces of his distant relatives. He stopped absently tracing his ears and returned to cleaning behind them. His ears were sensitive to touch, but Hiruma had never bothered to ask anyone else he knew if they also had sensitive ears, he just assumed everyone did. Maybe that's why mothers were always pulling on kids' ears, to make the feel a little agony to drive the point home….

Hiruma opened his mouth to let a little water splash in. He swirled the water around in his mouth and spat out the dirt, blood, and spit that had gathered up in there during his practice. Snarling a little at the crap that had just been in his mouth, Hiruma rinsed it again. Inspecting carefully with his tongue, Hiruma decided his mouth was clean.

Unconsciously, Hiruma ran his tongue over his long canines. They were by far his most sensitive teeth. If he took a drink of something that was too warm or cold, it was the canines that hurt most. If he ate anything too sweet they ached, which resulted in his low tolerance of sugar.

Hiruma chuckled as he remembered his first trip to the dentist, his father and the dentist had argued about his fangy canines and what should happen to them. Eventually it was decided that they would wait for the adult teeth to come in, but that was after the two had yelled themselves blue in the face and caused a large scene in the waiting room. Hiruma himself had remarked that the two were arguing over teeth that were going to fall out eventually anyways, which is what had stopped the argument.

_'Serves the bastard right.'_ Hiruma thought smugly, remembering how his father had been so dumbstruck by the simple fact. Again Hiruma had been told by the dentist and by his father that the teeth were again a birth defect. It was just another fact of life.

Hiruma actively choose not to remember the argument he had had with his father when his adult teeth had proved to be even more fang-like than his baby teeth. It had not been pretty, resulting in Hiruma running away from home the following day.

_'Why did that bastard have a fetish with trying to make me look more 'normal'?'_ Hiruma wondered, recalling having overheard his father on the phone with a plastic surgeon trying to get something done about Hiruma's ears. Hiruma liked his appearance, it was completely natural after all.

With the exception of one thing that was never explained to him, because it had happened after he had left his parents' home. His hair had turned from black to blond when he was 12. It happened over the course of a few days, and made almost no sense. He had told everyone that he bleached it, and everyone had believed him. Part of Hiruma wanted to chalk up his hair to another birth defect, it wasn't that much unlike turning gray prematurely.

All these birth defects were unnerving if you thought about them too long.

_'If you have one birth defect the chances of having another range anywhere from .5 to 54 percent depending on the genetic make up of the parents.'_ Hiruma reminded himself [1].

He stepped out of the show and began to dry himself, pausing to stare at his hands, specifically his fingernails. The nails had been cut into claw-like points. Hiruma had always cut his nails that way once he was old enough to cut them himself. He faintly wondered why he had chosen to start doing that, after all he'd been pretty young when he made that choice.

Immediately he dismissed the thought, it didn't really matter in the long run, he could always cut his nails into a rounder shape if he wanted too. Besides, the claws really did make an excellent finishing touch to his demonic image. One he enjoyed putting on all too much.

With a slightly feral grin, Hiruma left the locker room and headed towards school, a machine gun propped up against one shoulder and his bag slung over the other.

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[1] – I just made those up, do not quote me on them.

How was the Hiruma-centric chapter? Please leave me a review!


	5. Hidden At Work

Author's Note: I'm done with finals! Yay! Extra long update celebration!

The Story So Far: Hiruma thinks he's normal, Mamori believes that Hiruma is a Sensitive, and only Kurita and Mushashi know the truth.

To table-top: I have a very good reason to be calling Hiruma a half-Succubus as opposed to a half-Incubus, it will be explained in this chapter. Thank you for your complements! Thank you for reviewing!

Hidden

By: Bar-Ohki

Chapter 5: Hidden at Work

Kobayakawa Sena found himself doing something particularly scary: confronting Hiruma about his father's plans to go to the fair the up coming weekend. Carefully, Sena edged himself into the clubhouse where Hiruma was typing madly on his laptop. Practice had just finished and Hiruma was making strategy notes.

"What do you want fucking man-!?" Hiruma snapped as he looked up from his computer, only to cut himself off when Sena was standing in the doorway, cowering. Hiruma pinched the bridge of his nose and let out an exasperated sigh. He waved Sena into the room.

"Make it quick shrimp." Hiruma instructed the runner gruffly, returning to his computer.

"Umm, well- you see…." Sena was too nervous to fulfill the request for quickness.

"I _said_ 'make it quick' **fucking shrimp!"** Hiruma bellowed, looking up from his computer with a particularly uncontrolled, violent expression.

"My dad wants me to go to the fair with him this Sunday!" Sena squeaked.

"And?" Hiruma was unamused by the interruption and had no patience to draw his own conclusions from Sena's comment.

"I was wondering if we had an after game practice…." Sena explained, remarkably not stuttering.

"…." Hiruma thought about it for a moment. "You said the fair right?"

"Err, yes." Sena wasn't liking where this train of thought was going.

"If we beat the White Knights, the practice will be at the fair. If not, you can just go with your sappy little family and do whatever the hell it is your family does at fairs." Hiruma remarked with a yawn. "It'll be no different than the last fair practice we had."

"Ah, okay then." Sena let out a sigh of relief. He bowed. "Thank you Hiruma-sempai."

"…Whatever." Hiruma grunted, already putting his attention back to his laptop. Sena left quickly.

The door opened again and Hiruma looked up and glared at the new interruption, it was Mushashi.

"Here are your notes for English." Mushashi set the folder of photocopies down next to Hiruma. "You should come in a little less late next time."

Hiruma grunted in response.

"I'm off to my job then." Mushashi announced to no one in particular.

"…Don't tire yourself needlessly old man. I need you functioning at this next match." Hiruma advised (or was it threatened?) his friend.

"I won't." Mushashi assured Hiruma and left the clubhouse.

Mushashi, or Takekura Gen as his parents named him, found himself walking up to a beat up truck full of beams and tools. He hoped in the cab and drove across town to his new work place. He arrived at a tall, gray wall with a large, wooden gate. The wooden gate had metal reinforcements on the front, giving it an intimidating, Spartan look.

_'Like that could really scare away the stuff their trying to keep out.'_ Mushashi snorted to himself. He pulled the truck up to the gate and rolled down the window. Mushashi did not have to wait long for a man in a nice suit to show up at the window.

"Takekura-kun?" The man asked and held out his hand. Mushashi, who was used to the strange routines these Mages had, put his hand in the man's and looked him in the eye.

"That is who I am." Mushashi told the man firmly.

"Good, you may proceed." The man nodded once and the gate opened. Mushashi quickly drove the truck through the gate. A glance in the review view mirror told Mushashi that the gate had closed. There were several strange bits of junk sticking out of the backside of the gate, arranged in an intricate, Celtic-knot-like pattern. Every time Mushashi looked at it, the more bizarre and pointless the pattern seemed.

"I guess I will never understand magic." Mushashi muttered to himself as he approached the skyscraper. For some presumably magical reason, the skyscraper was invisible on the other side of the wall. Mushashi pulled into a parking space and got out of the truck. With practiced ease, he hauled various tool boxes out of the back and began to make his way into the building.

"Takekura-kun, this way please." Another suited man came out of nowhere and directed Mushashi through the building to an elevator.

"What exactly am I working on today?" Mushashi asked the suited man, sounding only partially curious.

"The ceiling I think." The man humored Mushashi with an answer.

_'Ah, the nice guy today.'_ Mushashi nodded. "Thank you."

"How was football today?" The suited man asked pleasantly.

"Difficult, we can't afford to lose this next game, so our captain's been pushing everyone extra hard." Mushashi answered truthfully. "We'll win it, I'm sure."

"Good to hear." The suited man nodded. "Here's your stop, last door on the right."

"Thank you." Mushashi got off the elevator and gave the man a small, polite bow. He then reached the designated door and walked inside to see there were no ceiling tiles.

"Or Mages for that matter…." Mushashi muttered as he inspected the ceiling. It looked like he had to do some wiring today.

"Oh! I'm sorry Takekura-sama!" A young voice gasped from behind. In the door was a young girl with big green eyes and short, red hair.

"Ah, Zeki-chan, you're working with me today?" Mushashi asked the girl with a small smile.

"Yes, Papa said it'd be good practice for me to put the charms up." Zeki smiled, proud of herself. "Papa says I'm good enough now I don't need help!"

"I don't know enough about magic to tell you how good you are," Mushashi started, "but I can say that you are a really good partner."

"Lets get to work!" Zeki dashed into the room, full of energy.

"Okay, do you have the plans?" Mushashi asked her. The girl nodded and produced a large white sheet of paper. Mushashi laid it out and pointed at a diagram on the paper.

"We'll start with this, can you do the enchantment here?" Mushashi asked her, getting an enthusiastic nod in response. "Good, climb up on my shoulders and we'll get to work."

The girl climbed up on Mushashi's shoulders with a piece of chalk in one hand. Mushashi climbed on a ladder with a specific toolbox and some wires. Both went to work on their respective tasks.

After finally getting a particularly obnoxious wire to cooperate, Mushashi paused to watch Zeki at work. She drew very precise, complicated loops, while chanting. Once the loop was completed, it would light up briefly. When the light faded Zeki would giggle and move onto making the next pattern. Watching the Mage work reminded Mushashi of a question he'd been meaning to ask for a long, long time but never had the chance too.

"You've been studying magical creatures right?" Mushashi asked Zeki.

"Uh-huh!"

"What's the difference between a Succubus and an Incubus?" Mushashi asked politely.

"Uh… Succubus are all girls and daughters of the moon, I think." Zeki answered. "They are really dangerous 'cause they can suck out someone's soul by just being around them."

"Ah, okay." Mushashi made a point to memorize that factoid.

"Incubus are all boys, sons of the Sun." Zeki continued to explain. "They have to eat souls through real things. I don't know what that means exactly, but my teacher said that an Incubus is more likely to bite you than anything."

"That's okay Zeki." Mushashi assured her. "I learned a lot, you're a good teacher."

"Really!?" Zeki squealed.

"Yup!" Mushashi grinned.

"Why'd you want to know that?" Zeki was full of innocent curiosity.

"My best friend's dad had an encounter with either a Succubus or an Incubus, and I've been wondering what the difference was." Mushashi explained.

_'Its not exactly a lie, but its definitely not the truth….'_ Mushashi didn't like the thought of lying to a child, but he didn't want to needlessly draw attention to Hiruma's heritage (it seemed to be a very sensitive subject for Mages).

"Oh I see! It must have been a Succubus then, 'cause they only go after boys. Incubus only go after girls." Zeki smiled when she realized this.

"Wow! Thank you!" Mushashi pretended that the information was news to him.

_'So Succubus and Incubus are fundamentally different creatures, that explains the distinction and a bit about how Hiruma's magic-eating works.'_ Mushashi mused.

"Hey look at that, we're done!" Mushashi grinned as he pulled his hands down to examine his handy work. Now the floor above was properly wired and (hopefully) properly enchanted.

"Yay! I'll go get Papa!" Zeki announced as he clambered down Mushashi and rushed out the door before he could protest.

Mushashi let out an amused snort, then began to stretch his back and neck muscles. He did not have to wait long for Zeki to return with her father.

Genkei Samuru was a large, heavy man with a balding head and a scruffy gray mustache. He had small, piercing green eyes. Currently he was wearing a disapproving frown along with his dull, gray suit. He looked at the ceiling with a careful eye.

"Good work." Genkei announced after several minutes of tense silence. "Zeki, you may go and play in my office now."

"Okay!" The happy girl bounced and skipped off. Genkei leveled his gaze onto Mushashi.

"Report." It was a order with no room for argument.

"There hasn't been any change from last week." Mushashi announced. "Though, Kurita believes that Hiruma unconsciously chooses what he eats magically."

"…Why does Ryoukan-kun believe that?" Genkei asked after taking a moment to think about what Mushashi had just told him.

"It's the parts that get eaten, its random apparently. Hiruma is one of the most intentional people I know. He wouldn't eat magic randomly if he was aware of it." Mushashi explained.

"I suppose you are right; you _are_ one of the two people he actually trusts." Genkei glared as he said this.

"Its not just me and Kurita sir," Mushashi corrected the man, "he trusts all of the Devil Bats, even Anezaki."

"Anezaki?" Genkei's eyebrows raised up in alarm. "Did I hear you right boy?"

"You did." Mushashi quirked an eyebrow back at the man. "She's our team manager, doesn't seem to be affected by Hiruma's presence any more than anyone is."

"Oh, okay then." Genkei let out a small sigh of relief. "We try to keep the number of people that are aware of Youichi-kun's heritage at a minimum as you know."

"She's not aware of it, sir." Mushashi assured him.

"You are done here, leave." Genkei told him sternly.

"Have a good day sir." Mushashi wished the man (with no real sincerity) as he left.

"…." Genkei watched Mushashi disappear into the elevator, frowning deeply. He walked down the hall and entered a dark room. Three people were within the room already.

"It appears as though the thing has decided to make a few more connections amongst the non-magical." Genkei reported to the dark room.

"So it is impossible for the thing to connect with it's food." Another voice, this one belonging to a woman, remarked dryly.

"Not entirely," Genkei corrected her, "it appears the Anezaki daughter somehow slipped through the cracks and is now attending school with the thing. She's even befriended it."

There was a communal gasp in the room.

"That non-magic brat we just had in here just reported that she's obvious to the thing's eating habits." Genkei continued to explain. "It appears as though the thing does not consciously choose its food."

"That is very dangerous." The woman commented.

"And explains a great deal about the patch-ups I've had to do after its been by." Hiruma Yuuchi groaned.

"I think that also explains why it will not eat Hiruma-sama's magic." Genkei added as an afterthought.

"Tch! As if I want another connection to that atrocity!" Hiruma hissed.

"My fellows, this is a golden opportunity to gain a potential means to control it," the third person, a man, explained, "just imagine the possibilities if we had it under control…."

"The Western Councils certainly have been! Do you know how many times I get a request for its blood!?" Hiruma groaned. "Fucking Americans."

"We wouldn't share it with the west, this is _our_ monstrosity after all." The third man said smoothly. "I know you might not want it around, Hiruma-sama, but it has the potential to be such a useful tool."

"I can see it now, all of the magical world bowing before us in fear." Genkei grinned.

"Can't we all?"

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Like the plot? Leave a review and let me know!


	6. Hidden By Hesitation

Author's Note: This chapter is happening at the same time Mushashi is driving over to enchanted skyscrapers to fix their ceilings…. That's a really strange thought. I'm a little disheartened by the lack of reviews, but that's okay, I'll live. Extra thanks to those who did review.

The Story So Far: In the last chapter we had some bad people plotting terrible things for Hiruma Youichi _and_ Mushashi works for one of these people! Gasp!

Hidden

By: Bar-Ohki

Chapter 6: Hidden by Hesitation

Mushashi had been gone all of five minutes when Hiruma's next distraction arrived. This one was in the form of Mamori walking into the clubhouse and starting to clean before the door had finished shutting.

"Fucking manager." Hiruma stated his nickname for her to get her attention.

"I have a name." Mamori reminded him grumpily as she continued her vigorous sweeping.

"Tch. Make yourself useful and get me a coffee." Hiruma ordered her, not moving from his position. Mamori rolled her eyes and swept her way over to the coffee pot. Once she arrived there, she began making coffee.

"...Where's Mushashi-san?" Mamori asked after a long silence. She had noticed that something was slightly amiss with the room, just a moment ago she realized that Mushashi wasn't there asking her how she was feeling.

"Working." Hiruma did not elaborate.

"…Here's your coffee." Mamori walked over and set the mug down next to Hiruma's right arm. Casually, Hiruma picked up the mug and sipped it once. With a small nod, Mamori went back to her cleaning in silence.

"Is there anything else I need to do?" Mamori asked when she finished cleaning. To her surprise she heard Hiruma shut his laptop.

"No." Hiruma stood up and gathered his things.

"You usually stay later." Mamori commented carefully, wondering what was possessing Hiruma to behave strangely. Hiruma glanced at the calendar, looking at the next day. The team was going to Oujou High School to infiltrate and crack the secret behind the mysterious play called 'Ballista'. He didn't say anything, but Mamori understood well enough.

Tomorrow was the day with all the work, nothing more could be done until then.

"Aren't you leaving?" Hiruma asked her as he opened the door, his back to her.

"I have to check the locker room." Mamori answered truthfully. Hiruma said nothing as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a set of keys. He took one key off the chain and threw it backwards at Mamori. She caught the key deftly.

"Normal time." Hiruma told her and left.

It took Mamori two minutes to check and see that the locker room was orderly. She took another two minutes to pack her things and leave, locking up behind her. She hurried off the grounds and onto the street, not wanting to be out in the chilly evening air any longer than she had to.

To her surprise, she could see Hiruma up ahead, gun slung casually over his shoulder.

_'He must be tired if he's still in sight.'_ Mamori mused.

With a gasp, Mamori clutched her stomach as her gut clenched _hard._ She blinked twice and snapped her head around, trying to find the source of her discomfort. Her magical senses sensed a hostile presence nearby. Mamori quickened her pace as she began to understand what her senses were telling her. Three men in front of her, all clad in purple suits, emitted the most hostile magical auras she'd ever seen. They were not powerful, but they had murderous intent.

_'Well if they aren't after me, what _are_ they after?'_ Mamori looked around carefully, trying to the focus of their intent. It wasn't very hard, all three men were glaring in the direction of their victim: Hiruma Youichi.

"Hiruma?" Mamori's eyebrows shot up in surprise. All three men froze, then snapped around to look at her. Because of their charmed clothing, Mamori could not see anything distinguishable about them. It did not take them very long to realize that she was a Mage.

"Stay out of this." One of the men ordered her.

"…I'm not going to sit here and watch you mess with my friend." Mamori glared at the man, her protective instincts kicking in. She gathered her magic within herself carefully, trying to not show these men just how powerful she was.

"You want to fight bitch?" Another man asked, cocky.

"Let's take this to the alley." The last man suggested. All four walked into the dark alley. The three men made a point to put themselves between Mamori and the exit.

Mamori raised her hands to make a small triangle between her fingers. She opened her mouth and said one, strong, hard syllable.

The men's mouths slammed shut. All three made distraught noise as they tried to force their mouths open with their hands. Mamori said another syllable and all three men found themselves on their backs, on the ground, stuck.

"You will stay there, unnoticed until sunrise." Mamori told them simply and walked away.

**-break-**

Hiruma's eyebrows raised up in mild surprise when he found the clubhouse door open. He had just arrived at school his usual ten minutes before everyone else.

"Are you trying to appease me by showing up early, fucking manager?" Hiruma asked her with a smirk.

"I wanted to talk to you." Mamori explained, choosing to ignore his last comment. Hiruma raised an eyebrow at her, mildly curious.

"You should be more careful going home." Mamori told him a matter a factly. Hiruma's expression turned angry.

"I don't need you mothering me, manager." Hiruma growled. "I am more than capable of taking care of myself."

"…Just be extra careful, please." Mamori hopped he would understand. In the culture of the magical world, it is rude to expose someone as a Sensitive or Mage without their permission. It was obvious to her that Hiruma didn't have any magical senses, he would have commented on her being a Mage (because he was rude enough to not care about cultural 'do's and 'don't's). And he had a magic sucking ability (which was still an ability, even it was strange), which meant that he couldn't sense.

"Go step up the ladder and the cones." Hiruma ordered her as he walked into the locker room. Mamori quietly watched him leave the room.

"You don't listen, do you?" She whispered to herself. With a sigh, Mamori began hauling the equipment out onto the field.

_'He doesn't understand the danger he's in.'_ Mamori thought to herself sourly. _'I should report this to someone….'_

"Is everything okay, Mamori-san?" Mushashi appeared seemingly from nowhere (in reality he'd been approaching her but she was too busy thinking to notice).

"Ah-! Its nothing!" Mamori waved her hands frantically to try and demonstrate that Mushashi didn't need to worry.

"You're flustered." The kicker observed.

"…." Mamori looked away and choose not to say anything.

"…Does it have to do with Hiruma?" Mushashi hazarded a guess. Her flinch told him he guessed right.

"…It wasn't anything you need to worry about." Mamori assured him and plastered a fake smile on her face. "Let's worry about the game instead."

"…Did he kiss you or something?" Mushashi wondered, guessing that the event had been a bit _personal_.

"No!" Mamori screeched, turning into a red tomato.

"If you say so." Mushashi shrugged, not having intended to fluster the girl.

"Old man! Quit attempting to flirt and start your laps!" Hiruma yelled as he ran by kicker, already in uniform.

"Yeah, yeah." Mushashi waved it off and headed to the clubhouse without another word or thought for Hiruma.

_=_=_=_=_=_=_

Please review and tell me what you think.


	7. Hidden in the Shadows

Author's Note: School's finally out, yay! Many thanks to those who are reviewing!

The Story So Far: Three purple suited men attempted to attack Hiruma and were thwarted by Mamori. But just how oblivious _is_ Hiruma?

Hidden

By: Bar-Ohki

Chapter 7: Hidden in the Shadows

Hiruma held the football in his hand carefully, preparing a long pass to Raimon. A small shiver crept up his spine when the quarterback realized he was being watched. Not letting the sensation perturb him, he threw a perfect throw that Raimon caught expertly. Upon landing from his high jump, Raimon immediately began posing.

Hiruma grabbed the nearest gun (which happened to be a shot gun) and fired an expert shot at the monkey boy's feet.

"Fucking monkey, get back in position!" Hiruma roared to add emphasis to his point. All the posing was obnoxious and stressed already worn out nerves; Hiruma was at the end of his patience.

"Ready MAX!" Raimon yelled from the other end of the field. One of Hiruma's favorite traits in the wide receiver was that he was quick to recover and always ready to catch another ball. Hiruma smirked evilly and threw a particularly powerful and accurate throw a little to the right of where Raimon stood.

_'Monkey has a 68% chance of catching an off-target throw…. It needs improvement.'_ Hiruma thought to himself as he watched the ball fly. The gaze on his back grew more intense, making Hiruma shiver again.

_'Its getting worse….'_ Hiruma thought with a frown. He'd been being followed home for a couple of weeks now. So far all his would-be antagonizers hadn't had the balls to actually attack him, but Hiruma knew it was only a matter of time before he was confronted.

_'And the fucking manager has noticed it too….'_ Hiruma growled under his breath as he watched Raimon dive and barely catch the ball. If there was one thing Hiruma really hated, it was being mothered.

Feeling irritated, Hiruma picked up another ball and threw it immediately, giving Raimon little time to react. The monkey boy didn't disappoint, he leaped sideways at the last possible second and caught the ball. Hiruma smirked, pleased with the progress Raimon had been making.

"Fucking shrimp, go out there and put some pressure on fucking monkey." Hiruma casually ordered Sena, who happened to be innocently running by.

"O-okay!" Sena paused his run to give a small bow and bolted off down the field towards the unsuspecting Raimon. Hiruma threw another ball while fighting back a shiver.

_'They can't know that I know about them,'_ Hiruma reminded himself, _'I lose my advantage of surprise if they know I know.'_

Raimon caught the ball despite getting tackled by Sena. Hiruma reached into the container to pick up another ball and came back empty handed. He looked up from the empty trash can to meet eyes with Mamori. Raising his right hand he signaled to her.

'16 fetch ball … 11 punt ball back … call 80 home' Hiruma signed [1]. Mamori nodded slowly, and sluggishly stood up from her seat on the bench. She began walking brusquely, her hand clutching her abdomen.

_'She's in pain.'_ Hiruma observed with a frown. _'Its probably bad cramps.'_ He decided after realizing that her pain was coming from the lower torso.

In reality, Mamori was not experiencing a heavy period, but rather was experiencing distress from her magical senses. Mages were watching Deimon's practice, particularly Hiruma. Their murderous intent was turning her insides into knots with both worry and unease. She glanced at Hiruma as he began to systematically catch Musashi's punts.

_'He can't feel it!'_ Mamori realized suddenly. Hiruma wasn't magically sensitive, he wouldn't be aware he was being watched and didn't believe it when people told him he was.

Kurita looked around warily, there were Mages with ill will about, he could sense them. Kurita locked eyes with Musashi and scratched his left ear. This was a code between them that meant that someone was after Hiruma. It wasn't the first time the two had to deal with some Mage trying to attack Hiruma, neither believed it would be the last.

Musashi watched Kurita's eyes carefully, waiting for the Sensitive to show him where the enemy was. It turned out the idiot decide to sit in one of the trees right by the southern goal post. Musashi smirked and slammed on the ball hard, making it fly like a cannonball into the air. The Mage wasn't too smart because he somehow didn't notice the football hurling towards him at high velocities.

"What the hell do you think you're doing fucking old-" Hiruma roared only to be cut off by the unmistakable sound of a football hitting flesh, hard.

The Mage in the tree let out a small yelp of pain then proceeded to loose his balance and fall right out of the tree. Hiruma and the others from Deimon looked on at the man wearing a tacky purple suit wiggle on the ground in agony.

"Huh. I thought it was a spy…." Musashi stuck his pinky into his ear casually as he announced this bit of information. Hiruma smirked, picked up a machine gun and stalked over to the Mage.

"What have we here?" Hiruma asked the man, who had just now managed to regain his bearings despite the large throbbing from the bruise the football caused. He couldn't see all that well because one of his eyes was already half swollen shut, but what he did see was a dark aura, red glowing eyes, and fangs.

It was enough to make all those little instinctive caveman bells in his head ring and say 'get the hell out of there!!'. The resulting girly shriek of terror prevented the man from actually getting to his feet. Hiruma cackled and began mercilessly making an outline of the man out of bullet holes.

When the man passed out and pissed his pants, Hiruma found himself crying he was laughing so hard.

_'That could have gone very badly….'_ Mamori thought to herself, not wanting to know what would have happened if Hiruma had been attacked magically.

_'That poor man didn't do enough research, a direct magical attack won't work on Hiruma….'_ Kurita shook his head. Everyone else there thought he was just doing it because Hiruma was overenthusiastically binding the man in rope to hang from the top of the school, naked.

"Any more?" Musashi asked Kurita as both stood back from the hanging of the unconscious Mage.

"They all kind of went away after Hiruma started shooting." Kurita answered.

"We'll have to keep an extra careful eye on him today." Musashi observed.

"I don't think anyone will cause a problem around Oujou; Shin is there after all." Kurita mumbled. Musashi heard it despite how low it was.

"Shin as in Shin Seijuro?" Musashi was surprised.

"Yeah, Shin-san is a very powerful Sensitive." Kurita explained. "Most Mages don't try to cause trouble around him because he usually just tackles them…."

"Ah." Musashi nodded. "We shouldn't let our guard down despite that."

"I know. We'll defend Hiruma no matter what!" Kurita was fired up, much the same was he was in games.

"We'll definitely beat Oujou Kurita-sempai!" Raimon had only heard the last thing Kurita said and assumed the two had been talking seriously about the upcoming game.

For Musashi, it took ever bit of his will power to not sweatdrop or laugh at Raimon's contribution to their conversation.

_=_=_=_=_=_=_

Since I wrote down what Hiruma literally signed, here's a translation for what he meant:

[1]- "Fucking badly's brake is over, send him out to pick up balls. Have the fucking old man punt the balls back to me. Send fucking monkey on break."

The poor Mage, he didn't know what hit him, literally…. Please review!


	8. Hidden by Knights

Author's Note: Weather report from where I am from: cold and snowy. I am not really going into details about the quiz, you can watch episode 125 on Veoh if you want quiz details.

The Story So Far: Hiruma has blackmail on one of his stalkers! And the Deimon lot is heading towards Oujou!

Hidden

By: Bar-Ohki

Chapter 8: Hidden by Knights

Shin Seijuro and a few of the other members of his school were standing in front of Tsubasa Tama, a middle aged woman with black hair (dyed of course) and dark brown eyes. She was petit with a little bit of pudge that wouldn't leave her body no matter how much she dieted. She was dressed in a purple woman's suit and wore large, circular glasses.

Shin opened his senses and saw that, unsurprisingly, Tsubasa-sensei was a Mage, along with all the other students around him. Oujou had a small magical population, all of whom had had an encounter with Tsubasa-sensei (usually her confronting the student about how there was going to be no magical nonsense at school).

"I want all of you to be aware that during the festival today, we might get a very… strange guest." Tsubasa explained, choosing her words with care.  
They have the ability to eat magic, so I urge all of you to pay extra attention to your magical energy. If something starts eating it, leave immediately and head straight here. Do not try to confront the magic-eating guest, you will not win that confrontation."

"Ma'am?" One of the Mages raised a timid hand. "Why is Shin-san here?"

"Seijuro-kun is a Sensitive. If the special guest shows up, Seijuro is to trail him and let the rest of you know where our guest is." Tsubasa explained.

"Just how powerful are you Shin-san?" One of the other students asked him.

"I can See magic auras." Shin answered simply, then turned to Tsubasa. "Who is our 'special guest'?"

"You've met him." Tsubasa assured him. "He attends Deimon Private High School."

Shin paused a moment and thought about all the people he knew from Deimon. All of them were apart of the American Football team. The manager was a Mage, and their center and ace runningback were Sensitives. Shin's eyes widened in realization, Hiruma Youichi, Deimon's quarterback, had a very strange, inhuman aura that pulled magic towards itself.

"…Yes I have." Shin nodded, knowing that Tsubasa-sensei was surely referring to Hiruma.

"Good. All of you are dismissed." Tsubasa announced, shooing the students away with her hands. Everyone left quickly.

Shin met up with Takami (quarterback), Sakuraba (wide receiver), and Otawara (center). They all gave him an acknowledging nod and proceeded to walk around the school festival.

**-with the Devil Bats-**

It hadn't taken very long for the Devil Bat team to brake off into groups. Kurita and Komusubi had started in on the food stands (much to the pleasure and displeasure of the people running the stands). The three Huh-huh Brothers had started participating in the various fair games. Hiruma and Musashi wandered off on their own to do whatever those two do when left unattended.

Hiruma walked past a craft stand and stopped, smelling something tasty in the air. He looked around and made eye contact with the vendor at the stand. She was a short girl, with large glasses, brown hair, and freckles. The moment Hiruma's eyes met hers, she gasped and collapsed. Everyone around gasped and stared at the now-unconscious girl.

Hiruma blinked once, slightly confused. The good smell was gone and he felt full in a strange way. Musashi turned around and quirked an eyebrow at his friend, wondering why they had stopped. Hiruma shrugged it off, this was not the first time he'd smell something good then stop and feel full after the smell went away, in fact it happened everyday. Today was just the first day someone had collapsed in front of him.

"That girl just collapsed." Hiruma remarked causally, not really caring a lot about it.

"Ah." Musashi couldn't help but to agree. He wished Kurita was here to confirm whether or not the girl had been a Mage. Very sincerely, Musashi hoped the girl was not a Mage.

"Lets go round up fatty." Hiruma changed the subject as he drifted away from the collapsed girl and the resulting state of mayhem.

"Sure."

**-with the White Knights-**

Shin's cellphone buzzed in his pocket, making him stop to take it out and look at it. This cellphone was the only electronic object Shin could interact with and not destroy, and the only reason why it held this status was because of the serious amounts of spells cast on it.

The little screen told him that Tsubasa-sensei was calling. Shin decided to answer.

"Hello." Shin greeted his teacher. Sakuraba, Takami, and Otawara stopped and waited to the side, giving Shin space to have his conversation.

_"He's here and has already done damage! Go find that demon right now!"_ Tsubasa yelled into the phone and hung up. Shin said nothing as he ended the call on his end.

"What was that about?" Takami couldn't help but wonder.

"Deimon is here." Shin answered simply.

"Hey! Sakuraba, lets go and beat Deimon!" Otawara was pointing at the quiz stand where Sena and Taki (Deimon's idiotic tight-end) sat at a podium.

"Wha-!?" Sakuraba protested as Otawara literally hauled him up onto the stage.

"…Looks like we'll have to compete Shin." Takami observed. Shin nodded.

It did not take very long for all the teams to gather and begin one of the world's most amusing quizzes.

Shin found himself feeling like somewhat of a fool when he realized that he didn't know any of the answers. The only grace was that Otawara and Taki were being bigger fools than him.

The crowd gasped when the announcer was hauled off the stage. Shin knew Hiruma had done the hauling, he could see Hiruma's distinctive aura through the wood of the stage.

_'Its not pulling any magic.'_ Shin's eyebrows went up in mild surprise. It appeared as though Hiruma was done 'eating' magic for the day.

Hiruma jumped onto the stage and posed a question about Ballista, shocking several members of the crowd and unsettling Takami.

Shin calmly answered the question, ignoring his buzzing cellphone.

Tsubasa-sensei was not pleased.

_=_=_=_=_=_=_

This chapter did _not_ want to be written, that is why it took so long.

Please review!


	9. Hidden Strength

Author's Note: Just got my LiveJournal contently working. Whoo! Sorry for the lateness, I've been busy with last minute Christmas shopping, hell I'm still not done.

The Story So Far: Hiruma unconsciously sucks magic out of other things, this causes him to have several enemies (including his father and the other Elders) and some very strange allies (Musashi the normal human, Mamori the Mage, and Kurita the Sensitive). Now that Deimon innocently decides to infiltrate Oujou, Hiruma's presence has caused a stir in all the wrong places….

Hidden

By: Bar-Ohki

Chapter 9: Hidden Strength

Tsubasa Tama was _livid_. That thing had gotten to run around completely uncontrolled for a good bit of time, long enough to eat the magic completely out of one of her students. Two of the other Elders were present, along with the girl's parents and Shin Seijuro, the Sensitive that was on duty.

"Well!?" Tsubasa demanded, looking Shin in the eye.

"…I had been released from your lecture for about five minutes when I received the call stating that Hiruma-san was present." Shin told her simply. "Even with my speed, it would have been impossible to have been at the entrance in time to have intercepted Hiruma-san."

"…I suppose that couldn't be helped then." Hiruma Yuuya admitted after a long moment.

"Elder, she can be healed right?" The girl's mother was in tears.

"No, it was the magic was completely eaten out of her." Hiruma shook his head. "Seijuro-kun confirmed this earlier."

To Shin, the girl's aura was perfectly normal.

"Will she wake?" The girl's father asked.

"Yes, but she will never be able to use magic again." Genkei informed the parents. "This is partly my fault, the two watchers I posted on the thing weren't successful in keeping it contained either."

"…I'm sorry." Shin bowed to the parents, feeling responsible.

"So there is nothing that can be done…." The girl's father shut his eyes and bowed his head in defeat.

"Can't we destroy this thing that did this?" The girl's mother asked, her voice pleading.

"The situation involving the thing is very complicated, it cannot be readily destroyed, I'm sorry ma'am." Genkei explained to the woman quickly.

Shin noted that Hiruma looked as though he would have agreed to the woman's proposal.

"Seijuro-kun, leave now." Tsubasa ordered him. Shin bowed to the Elders, then bowed again to the girl's parents and left without another word. In the outer room was the monk Kurita.

"Kurita-dono!" Shin was startled by the appearance of the man who had taught him how to understand his extra senses.

"Seijuro-kun, it has been a long while." Kurita admitted after a while. "…I'm sorry to see you were involved in this accident."

"…What is Hiruma-san exactly?" Shin asked after a long pause.

"You weren't told?" Kurita's eyebrows rose in mild surprise. "Youichi-kun is a half-Succubus, he eats magic to survive."

"That's why everyone speaks of him like he's a monster." It wasn't a question, it was a statement of fact.

"Youichi-kun is half-human too, not enough people remember that." Kurita sighed. "In fact, beyond his slightly demonic appearance and the magic eating, he's a normal boy."

"And an excellent quarterback." Shin nodded, agreeing.

"Seijuro-kun, please don't treat Youichi-kun differently and watch over him." Kurita asked his old student.

"I will." Shin assured his old teacher.

"Thank you, Youichi-kun needs more allies in this world." Kurita looked wistful.

"Kurita-dono?" Shin was a little confused.

"…There are several parties that want to use Youichi-kun like a weapon, other parties that want to experiment on him, other parties that just want him dead. But Youichi is a good boy, he doesn't deserve any of this." Kurita explained.

"…I'll do what I can," Shin began, "right now I want to play my best in the next game against his team."

"…Then best of luck in the game!" Kurita smiled. "Though, I'll be cheering for my son!"

Shin bowed and took his leave. After a short while, Genkei came out of the room, looking particularly pissed.

"What the hell happened, Kurita!?" Genkei demanded. "That thing is to have someone watching it constantly!"

"Gen-chan was with Youichi-kun the entire time." Kurita answered. "Kuirta wanted to have a few minutes to enjoy the fair with another friend, so he was not present when Youichi-kun ate that girl's magic."

"Your son should know that's its far more important for him to be present than that Takekura-boy!" Genkei growled.

"Perhaps the fault is that we have been leaving our observations in the hands of children." Kurita pointed out wisely. "I doubt it occurred to them."

"That thing won't let anything that isn't its own age near it!" Genkei hissed.

"Then you should change your expectations." Kurita gave him a level look. "But, if it will please you, I will go discipline Gen-chan and Ryokan."

"Do it." Genkei hissed. Kurita bowed and took his leave of the man.

**-later, with Musashi, Kurita, and Ryokan-**

"…Is that girl okay?" Musashi asked when he arrived at the Kurita family shrine. Both father and son had been there to greet him.

"We will speak of this inside." Kurita the monk answered. Both boys nodded and followed the old monk into the temple. Eventually they came to a large ceremony room, all three sat down.

"…Youichi-kun ate every bit of magic that girl had. She is no longer a Mage." Kurita announced. Musashi punched the mat in front of him.

"Dammit!" Musashi muttered.

"This is all my fault!" Ryokan cried.

"…Not entirely. We could have given you pictures of what the Mages at Oujou looked like, we could have told you what booths those Mages were working and when, and we could have coordinated your surveillance over Youichi-kun better with Seijuro-kun." Kurita explained to the two boys, his voice full of wisdom. "The two of you did your best considering the circumstances."

"They aren't going to send Hiruma to jail for this? We have a match soon-" Ryokan cut himself off when his father calmly held up a hand.

"Youichi-kun is not in any trouble, your match with Oujou will continue as scheduled." Kurita assured them. "The girl is not hurt, she is just no longer a Mage. I need the two of you to continue to watch over Youichi-kun, as his friends."

"Yeah, we'll do what we can." Musashi assured the monk. "Speaking of which, does this man look familiar?" Musashi held up a copy of one of the blackmail photos Hiruma had taken of the purple suited man that was sitting in on their practice earlier.

"…He's a Hunter for the Elders of North Europe." Kurita answered after a while.

"A Hunter!?" Kurita's eyes got wide and fear crept into his voice. Musashi looked confused.

"Hunters in the magic world are like special operations in the non-magic world." Kurita explained to Musashi. "They were probably ordered to capture Youichi-kun."

"…Could you explain Elders too?" Musashi asked after a minute.

"Oh, the Elders are the head of the magical government for their respective region." Ryokan explained. "We are ruled by the four Elders of the Eastern Ocean Isles, which includes all the islands in the Pacific with the exception of Hawaii and Alaska."

"Ah, I see." Musashi nodded.

"…North Europe and Southern Europe are in a lot of conflict right now, I think they want to use Youichi-kun as a weapon." Kurita admitted after a while.

Musashi and Kurita nodded seriously to one another.

"We won't let them take our friend for some sick political game." Musashi vowed.

_'Genkei, you are a fool for insisting we keep these children in the dark, the more they know, the harder they will fight.'_ Kurita thought to himself, smiling in a proud, satisfied way to the two boys before him. _'Youichi-kun will be save as long as he has friends like these.'_

_=_=_=_=_=_=_

And now we have seen the aftermath of what happened….

Please review and let me know what you think!


	10. Hidden Allies

Author's Note: Christmas shopping done, life is good. This chapter's a bit short, but important things happen despite that.

The Story So Far: Hiruma's magic eating abilities are in no one's control, not even Hiruma's. Some poor female Oujou student is now a victim of this uncontrolled ability, having completely lost her ability to do magic to it. Though no one is currently in trouble, tensions in the magical governments have risen.

Hidden

By: Bar-Ohki

Chapter 10: Hidden Allies

"Two of us aren't enough." Musashi commented to Kurita as they walked to school the next morning. "I can't do anything but tell you where Hiruma's been, and you can't do anything but tell what damage he's done."

"Mm! If Hiruma gets attacked and they bind us magically, it'd be over instantly." Kurita sighed. "We need a Mage."

"What about Anezaki?" Musashi suggested. "I mean, she is aware that Hiruma is sucking her magic, so I think she wouldn't mind knowing why."

"Ah! Yes, we should tell Mamori-san!" Kurita agreed.

"Let's not tell anyone else that she knows," Musashi insisted, "I don't trust the Elders, or that Genkei guy I have to report to."

"Eh? Genkei-sama is one of the Elders…." Kurita was confused.

"Really?" Musashi was mildly surprised. "I didn't know."

"Oh, sorry. Hiruma's father is one of the Elders too." Kurita informed his friend.

"Hiruma's father is a Mage." Musashi sighed. "No one has been telling me these things."

"I'm sorry Musashi! You can ask me any questions you need to." Kurita assured his friend.

"Are there any other Mages at our school?" Musashi couldn't help but to ask.

"No, the Elders put out a decree saying that Mages shouldn't go to Deimon, Anezaki went despite that." Kurita explained. "The Elders don't want people knowing about Hiruma because they think it will cause a panic, so they didn't say _why_ Mages should avoid Deimon, just that they shouldn't."

"Ah." Musashi nodded. "Speaking of Mamori, there she is." The two had just arrived at Deimon to see Mamori standing there by the gates with water.

"I'm supposed to put water on your masks…." Mamori told the two football players when they stared at her buckets of water.

"Hiruma's orders?" Musashi guessed.

"No, Doburoku-sensei asked me." Mamori corrected the kicker.

"Are you going to splash that on me?" Kurita asked, not really wanting to be soaking wet first thing in the morning.

"If you want me to I will." Mamori held up a bucket. "I thought everyone could just dunk their face in."

"I don't think Hiruma will do that." Musashi chuckled as Kurita proceeded to re-wet his mask.

"I was planning on splashing him without asking." Mamori's eyes held a small bit of mischief. This was probably some kind of revenge in her eyes. Musashi hoped that it wouldn't turn foul (though he would watch the scene unfold from afar of course).

"Your turn." Mamori offered the bucket to Musashi. The kicker quickly dunked his face in and re-wet his mask. Kurita took a look around while Musashi was busy.

"Mamori, you're a Mage right?" Kurita asked her quietly, startling the girl by the sudden question. "I'm a Sensitive." Kurita added quickly to explain his question.

"Y-yes." Mamori admitted. "Why are you asking?"

"…We need your help." Musashi told her, adjusting his now-wet mask a little on his face.

"With what?" Mamori was curious, and confused.

"With watching over Hiruma, he's in a lot of danger." Kurita sighed, not happy about admitting that fact.

"I bet he is! Men in purple suits have were stalking him home the other day, I had to bind them up. And then there was that man at practice…." Mamori stopped, her eyes wide in a sudden realization. "You kicked that ball at him on purpose!"

"Yeah." Musashi admitted. "Kurita had to point him out to me."

"Huh?" Mamori was confused.

"Musashi is a normal person." Kurita explained. "He just knows about Hiruma's situation."

"Hiruma-kun's magic sucking ability you mean?" Mamori wanted to confirm that that was what this entire thing was about.

"Hiruma is a half-Succubus, he literally eats magic." Kurita explained.

"Eh!?" Mamori's eyes widened.

"His pointy ears and fangs are things he was born with." Musashi pointed out. "I've seen baby pictures."

"You've seen baby pictures of Hiruma?" Mamori and Kurita stared at the kicker in awe.

"…I've had the 'pleasure' of meeting his folks once." Musashi explained. "I was let in on the whole half-Succubus thing not long afterwards."

"Was he a cute baby?" Mamori couldn't help but to ask.

"…He'd kill me if I answered that question." Musashi pointed out. _'Though I have to admit, Hiruma was a cute baby.'_

"You both have to explain everything to me!" Mamori demanded when she saw Hiruma approaching. "Now get."

"We will." Both the kicker and the lineman dashed behind the bushes so that they could observe Mamori and Hiruma's interaction.

"Hiruma-kun!" Mamori called out to the quarterback, who had been ignoring her up until now. He stopped, and slowly began to turn and face her, only to get a face full of water when his mask was finally in range.

"Doburoku-sensei's orders." Mamori told him hotly. Hiruma seethed quietly and glared in the direction of the clubhouse.

"Really." Hiruma didn't ask, he hissed as his eyes locked on the target of his next victim. "You're such a teacher's pet, fucking manager."

"Hiruma-kun!" Mamori yelled, irritated as Hiruma stalked off to go wreck untold havoc on the unsuspecting trainer.

"I think we should go do some damage control." Kurita hopped out of the bushes.

"Yeah." Musashi agreed.

The two ran as fast as they could in an attempt to keep half the school from _not_ blowing up that morning.

_=­_=_=_=_=_=_

Now Mamori's in on it! Will Sena get to find out? Will Hiruma successfully blow up half the school? Will the Hunters in purple finially make their move?

Leave a review!


	11. Revealed Mother

Author's Note: Anyone notice how I've been sticking 'hidden' into all the chapter names so far? Well, we have an important change this chapter. Hope everyone had good holidays!

The Story So Far: Mamori was let in on the whole situation involving Hiruma's heritage (which he is still blissfully unaware of). And Hiruma's about to go kill Doburoku.

Hidden

By: Bar-Ohki

Chapter 11: Revealed Mother

When Kurita and Musashi arrived at the clubhouse, they walked into a very awkward moment.

Doburoku was literally kissing the feet of some woman who was casually standing outside of the clubhouse. She wore a full length red dress that allowed both boys to get a fairly good idea of how big and soft the woman's breasts were. Her bleach blond hair was long and curly, flowing down past her shoulders gracefully. She had sharp, but beautiful features on her face. Her eyes were an amazing shade of electric blue, which complemented her full, pink lips. Two pointy, pale ears poked out of her hair. In short, this woman was extremely sexy.

Hiruma was staring at her like she had grown another head and looked as though he was very seriously considering firing his gun at her face.

"Eh?" Kurita simply blinked. The woman was not a Mage, that was all Kurita could figure out about her. The noise broke Hiruma out of his stupor.

"Ke ke ke!" Hiruma roared, as if he suddenly just got the joke. "You are the most delusional person I've met!"

"I'm really quite serious about this." The woman sounded concerned. "Did Yuuya drop you on your head?"

"Look lady, you are not my fucking _mother_." Hiruma told her acidly. "I can call my fucking mother right now and prove it." He held up a phone to prove his point.

"...Yuuya didn't tell you." The woman stated, sounding angry.

"Hello?" Musashi felt he had to say something. He began to regret it the moment the woman turned and glared at him.

"Get away from that door, we have practice." Hiruma ordered the woman, making a threatening motion with his gun to prove his point.

"…Fine." The woman stepped away and shot a look at Doburoku. The trainer stopped kissing her feet and sat back on his butt and stared at the wall, dazed and confused.

"Fucking alcoholic, move!" Hiruma roared, kicking Doburoku in the back to get him to move. The trainer scurried away, allowing Hiruma to access the door.

"Don't come around here again." Hiruma warned the woman and walked right on into the clubhouse without another word. Doburoku followed not long after.

"…Are you Hiruma-kun's real mother?" Kurita asked the woman after an awkward pause. Musashi shot a surprised look at his friend.

"How come you know?" The woman stared at them in slight disbelief. Musashi and Kurita shared a look.

"We're the ones that are supposed to keep your son out trouble." Musashi admitted after a moment. "The Elders told us about his heritage."

"We thought he knew." Kurita admitted quickly. "It isn't something that we need to talk about."

"I see." The woman looked to the side, somewhat frustrated.

"Er, what's your name?" Musashi couldn't help but asking.

"I am Lotem," Lotem answered simply, "and you two are?"

"Kurita Ryokan and Takekura Gen, everyone calls me Musashi though." Musashi answered.

"Why are you here, Lotem-san?" Kurita asked.

"To warn my brat to keep his head out of trouble," Lotem shot a glare at the clubhouse, "his stars have been very dark lately."

"…I'm really sorry about this whole thing." Kurit apologized after a moment of silence.

"…This is Yuuya's fault, I'm sure." Lotem sighed. "Keep an eye out for him."

And she disappeared into thin air.

"What happened to you two?" Sena asked as he jogged up from behind.

"Nothing." Musashi answered and walked into the clubhouse as if nothing had happened.

"Let's practice hard, okay?" Kurita just changed the subject, not having recovered as quickly as Musashi had.

"Okay?" Sena was very confused. The two entered the clubhouse.

"Fucking shrimp, if you see some bleach blond lady with a red dress loitering around here, chase her off or get me, got it!?" Hiruma ordered the unsuspecting runningback right as he came inside.

"Sure?" Sena quivered in fear as Hiruma was being extra ferocious.

_'I wonder what that was about….'_ Sena thought to himself as he entered the locker room to change.

_=_=_=_=_=_

Another short update, but still critical. Hiruma's Succubus mother has appeared and disappeared just as quickly as she appeared. What do you think?


	12. Revealed Hunter

Author's Note: Happy New Year! Things are going to be picking up their pace now.

The Story So Far: Hiruma is a half-Succubus that is currently in denial about his heritage (despite his real mother, Lotem, telling him otherwise). Right now Musashi, Mamori, and Kurita are working together to protect Hiruma from various magical governments known as Elders.

Hidden

By: Bar-Ohki

Chapter 12: Revealed Hunters

Mamori approached the table where Kurita was sitting. Musashi and Hiruma were nowhere to be found in the crowed cafeteria. She set down her tray and looked are Kurita curiously.

"Hiruma had a very… unsettling experience this morning," Kurita told her in a hushed tone, "he's unwinding on the roof with Musashi."

Mamori nodded. "Where should we talk?"

"Outside." Kurita told her as he finished the last of his food. Mamori quickly finished her meal and followed the lineman outside. They stopped on the edge of the deserted football field.

"…You said Hiruma-kun isn't human." Mamori really wanted Kurita to deny her.

"He's a half-Succubus," Kurita told her gently, "…he wasn't told about it until recently."

"Hiruma-kun didn't know about it?" Mamori's eyes widened in surprise.

"He's in denial right now." Kurita muttered, glancing at the roof where Hiruma was glaring out at the city in general.

"...I've heard about the half-Succubus being born." Mamori said after a while. "I just never imagined it would be Hiruma of all people."

"All the Councils want to use him for personal agendas it seems…." Kurita sighed. "He's got Hunters after him."

"Hunters!?" Mamori gasped. Suddenly there was a small knife pressed against her throat.

"That's right, Hunters." A sly voice from behind told her. "So why don't you tell me about my prey, missy?"

Kurita found himself under the power of a spell that held him in place. The lineman struggled vainly against an unseen opponent.

"…Hiruma is a good quarterback." Mamori told the man while she gathered her magic, preparing a spell.

"You're his manager and trusted friend, I know you know more missy." The Hunter hissed in Mamori's ear. "Perhaps you need a little incentive…."

Kurita gasped when he felt a sudden pain in his gut. Mamori's eyes got wide, they were in trouble.

**-on the roof-**

Musashi was standing next to Hiruma on the roof, both said nothing as they looked out at the city beyond. Hiruma had been in a foul mood since the woman had shown up that morning. Musashi looked down, knowing that if Hiruma wasn't going to talk, it was really upsetting him.

"What the hell!?" Musashi muttered when he saw the situation unfolding. Beside him, Hiruma glanced down and saw what the kicker had been talking about. Neither said anything when Kurita dubbed over in pain.

"…What did that man do?" Hiruma muttered, his eyes narrowing. "He didn't move."

Musashi looked closely at the purple suit the man was wearing. "…It was magic I think."

"How much of that woman's crap did you hear?" Hiruma demanded quietly.

"…Not much, but I do know men in purple suits like that one have been after your hide for the past couple weeks." Musashi answered, startling Hiruma.

"I see." Hiruma pulled out his shot gun and aimed it at the man's head.

"Rubber bullets?" Muashi found himself slightly obligated to ask.

"Yeah." Hiruma pulled the trigger and shot the unsuspecting Hunter in the head. He dropped his knife as he fell over, unconscious. Kurita shot forward and pulled the man off Mamori. Both looked up to see Hiruma and Musashi staring down at them from the roof.

"Tell me everything you know old man." Hiruma ordered Musashi as he looked down at the other two.

"…You should talk to Kurita, he actually understands this shit." Musashi suggested.

"Fatty's not up here." Hiruma pointed out.

"No, he's not." Another voice said from behind them.

_=_=_=_=_=_

And I leave you at that.


	13. Revealed by Seeing

Author's Note: This is a longer update! Please don't kill me!

The Story So Far: Hiruma and Musashi are alone on the roof with some unknown assailant while Kurita and Mamori are on the ground with an unconscious Hunter.

Hidden

By: Bar-Ohki

Chapter 13: Revealed By Seeing

Hiruma and Musashi turned around to see another man in a purple suit. There was something about the man that made remembering his face impossible. Hiruma's eyes narrowed as he slowly pulled his gun up, ready to shoot the man.

"Shooting me won't work boy." The man chuckled, as if Hiruma was joking with him.

Taking a breath, Hiruma paused and smelled something tasty. He blinked once, why would that tasty smell suddenly be here? Musashi looked at Hiruma carefully out of the corner of his eye and saw that Hiruma looked slightly confused about something. When the quarterback licked his lips and took a good whiff of the air Musashi realized why.

_'Hiruma eats magic to survive, of course he has a way to sense it!'_ Musashi realized. _'Hiruma can smell magic!'_

Not that Hiruma was at all aware that's what he was smelling.

The Hunter on the other hand, was already starting to feel the effects of Hiruma's eating. He had put up a shield to deal with any bullets the boy might shoot at him, only to have his shield ate away by the very creature he wanted to capture. Smirking slightly, the Hunter reached into his pocket and pulled out a gun. Inside this gun was a Medium in the form of a tranquillizer bullet. One shot would hopefully satisfy the thing's hunger and paralyze it long enough for capture.

Musashi and Hiruma were well aware of the man pulling out a gun of his own. Hiruma aimed and fired without warning as the man brought the gun up. Unfortunately the shield was still there enough to deflect the bullet, sending it whizzing past Hiruma's head.

"What the hell?" Hiruma muttered from behind his mask, his eyes wide in disbelief.

"Take this!" The Hunter shot his bullet at Hiruma, hitting the quarterback in the left shoulder. Hiruma gasped and recoiled, falling back a little. Musashi, on the other hand, rushed forward and tackled the unsuspecting Hunter, catching the man completely by surprise.

_'"Mages need to concentrate to do magic, if you don't have magic the best way to fight them is to keep them distracted and occupied so that they can't use magic on you."'_ Musashi recalled Kurita's father's advice. The kicker raised his fist and smashed it into the face of the Hunter. _'"Assaulting them physically is generally a good way to fight a Mage."'_ Kurita had recommended to Musashi later.

So far neither father nor son had been wrong.

Musashi punched the Hunter again. And again.

Hiruma had fallen onto his back, his body too numb to support him. All he knew was the blue sky above and that tasty smell. His body wouldn't move, which made him want more of the smell.

_'Why do I like this smell?'_ Hiruma faintly wondered, it was a smell he had known all his life. Sometimes it would originate from people, sometimes it would originate from things. He always sought it out even if he had just eaten a full meal, hungry for that smell alone. Hiruma had just assumed everyone could smell it.

_'What if they can't? What if I'm really what that woman said I was?'_ Hiruma wondered, still feeling hungry, still wanting the smell. _'Would I have to die then?'_

The Hunter was only really aware of the agony he was in. The Medium had been completely eaten away and now that damn monster was directly eating his magic, in a very painful and hungry way. It didn't help that the magicless brat was busy punching his face in, that was just the icing on the cake.

_'What the hell is that thing? Why is it hungrier!?'_ The Hunter thought just before Musashi punched him hard enough to knock the man out.

Musashi realized the Hunter was unconscious and turned to Hiruma who was lying on his back staring blankly upwards.

"Shit!" Musashi cursed, realizing that must have been a tranquilizer. He rushed to his friend's side and pulled out the bullet out of Hiruma's shoulder. After a moment's thought, Musashi decided to pocket it. He then picked Hiruma up and carried him away from the Hunter, down the stairs, and into the nurse's office.

"Oh my god!" The school nurse gasped, startled by the glazed-looking Hiruma.

"His gun misfired ma'am." Musashi explained to the nurse as she examined the bullet wound.

"No wonder he's in such a shock!" The nurse muttered as she helped Musashi lay Hiruma down on one of the empty beds.

"…Could I stay here with him?" Musashi asked after a moment. "He might get violent when he comes back to his senses…."

"Please do!" The nurse insisted as she cleaned Hiruma's wound and bandaged him up.

"…Do you both have colds?" The nurse couldn't help but to ask.

"No, this is football training." Musashi assured the woman. "Neither of us is sick."

"Ah, okay. Well, I have to step out for a moment and get some more gauze." The nurse explained.

"I'll just be here." Musashi assured her as he watched her walk out the door. Musashi turned and looked at Hiruma carefully.

_'…They probably made sure he wouldn't be going anywhere for a long while.'_ Musashi mused. He pulled out his cell phone and sent Kurita a quick text message saying to come and see him at the nurse's office as soon as possible.

The lineman appeared in the room about five minutes later with Mamori in tow. Upon entering the room, Mamori felt Hiruma biting at her magic vicously. She gasped and stumbled into Kurita, painting heavily in pain.

"Shit!" Musashi gasped, staring in horror as Hiruma unknowingly attacked Mamori. Kurita could sense Mamori's sudden drop in magical energy and acted quickly. He picked her up and carried her out of the room. Musashi said nothing but looked at Hiruma, who seemed to be stirring a little.

The world had started moving suddenly to Hiruma, he found himself going away from the tasty thing, which was bad. He almost had enough to get feeling back, but something was moving him away. While going down the stairs, Hiruma's head had moved and allowed him to dully take in Musashi's face and chest.

_'Fucking old man is carrying me somewhere?'_ Hiruma vaguely wondered, his mind dulled by the same thing that was dulling his body. He was faintly aware of a nurse popping in and out of view. There had been some conversation, but it had been too distant for his ears to hear clearly.

The something good smelling had come in. Hiruma was hungry again, he snatched out at the smell with his mind, demanding it allow him to regain movement. But just as quickly as the smell arrived, it disappeared. Thankfully, this time Hiruma had what he needed.

"Ungh?" Hiruma mumbled as he tried to get his tongue to work. He might have regained movement, but everything was still numb and sluggish. The quarterback tried to look around, but his vision was pretty blurred.

Musashi waited for Kurita to return, it did not take that long.

"I sent Anezaki-san on ahead to class." Kurita explained to Musashi as he came back in.

"…Is she okay?" Musashi asked quietly.

"Yeah, the experience was just tiring for her." Kurita assured the kicker.

_'Getting a knife on the throat rattled her, huh?'_ Hiruma's hearing was working again.

Musashi looked at Hiruma carefully. The drug was wearing off and dealing with Hiruma then was going to involve every trick Musashi knew. Acting quickly, Musashi pulled out the bullet and stuck it in Kurita's hand.

"They shot him with this, take a good look at it." Musashi whispered quietly. The kicker stepped back. "I told the nurse Hiruma's gun misfired, you need to do something about the guy on the roof. I'm going to stay here."

"Okay." Kurita nodded and began to leave. He shot one last look at Hiruma, then went out the door.

When Kurita finally made it to the roof, the man was gone.

**-later, with the Hunter-**

"Report." One of the male Elders ordered. Traditionally the Elders sit in shadow so one could not see who they were.

"The tranquillizer failed." The Hunter explained from his kneeling position on the floor. "Somehow being drugged makes the monster more hungry, it ate the Medium then started eating me."

"…What do you think we should do?" Another Elder, this one female, asked.

"Feed it until it is full, then knock it unconscious with a physical blow." The Hunter answered. "But there's another complication, of course."

"What is that?" The first Elder demanded.

"The monster has protectors. From what I have seen, there's a Sensitive, a normal human, and a Mage girl protecting it." The Hunter answered. "I don't know how the Mage girl can operate around the damn thing, but she does so on a regular basis."

"…Have your men investigate the Mage girl, she must have some kind of trick." The female Elder ordered him. "We'll do the research on the Sensitive and the normal human, they should be fairly easy to take care of."

"As you wish." The Hunter bowed his head and left the room.

"…Do you think that the Eastern Ocean Isles put those children in place around the monster?" The male Elder asked the female one.

"Of course, why would they want us to have their treasure?" The woman answered.

"Of course, they want if for themselves." The male sounded angry.

"Don't worry, the Hunters will bring it here. They always find a way in the end." The female assured him smugly.

"Yes, they do."

**-break-**

After Mamori had left, she had managed to prepare a simple draught that should flush the rest of the drugs out of Hiruma. Of course, with his magic eating, it might not work, but it was worth a shot. Musashi had administered the draught and by the end of the hour it started showing some results, namely in the form of Hiruma puking his guts out.

When Hiruma was done puking, he was no longer numb and his senses were no longer dull. A strange part of him felt full, while his normal stomach churned uncomfortably. The quaterback had decided to nap in the nurse's office until it was time for practice.

Now that practice was about to start, Hiruma was walking down to the clubhouse, glaring viciously at anyone who crossed his path.

"Are you feeling better, Hiruma-sempai?" Raimon Tarou, the team's ace receiver, had managed to meet up with Hiruma on his way to practice.

"I've had worse, monkey, I've had worse." Hiruma told Raimon gruffly. The two arrived at the clubhouse without another word. Everyone was in the clubhouse except Mamori.

"Where is the fucking manager?" Hiruma demanded, unhappy.

"There was a discipline officer committee meeting today," Musashi reminded Hiruma, "she told you that she wasn't going to be at practice this evening this morning."

Kurita and Musashi had been very thankful that Mamori had an excuse to be away from Hiruma right now.

"Tch." Hiruma growled and walked into the locker room without another word.

"…." Musashi couldn't help but wonder what was going through his friend's head.

_=_=_=_=_=_

Hiruma-centric chapter coming up! Leave a review!


	14. Possibly Revealed

Author's Note: My school term just started and writing time will be found when I'm not studying, in class, or choosing to crawl out of my room and be social. I'll try to update once a week or so, but I'm making no promises.

The Story So Far: Hunters have begun their attack and already find themselves changing their strategies. Hiruma is slowly beginning to question his heritage and existence.

Hidden

By: Bar-Ohki

Chapter 14: Possibly Revealed

Hiruma had always welcomed football practice, but today he was, for the first time in his life, sincerely grateful for it. Doing something normal on what had otherwise been a chaotic day was a much needed reprieve for the quarterback. Though he made a point to look unaffected by all the events of the day and appear like his usual demonic self, everyone on the team could see that he wasn't going at one hundred percent. No one commented and made a point to believe in Hiruma's lie that he was fine.

"Where's the fucking manager?" Hiruma demanded, glaring pointedly at Sena.

"I don't know." Sena answered truthfully. "I didn't see her at lunch either…."

"Tch." Hiruma frowned and stormed away. The quarterback was still very wound up by the day's events, it made him irritable. Thankfully, Hiruma had enough self-control to not take it out on his teammates if they weren't slacking, or in Sena's case, at fault.

"Hiruma-sempai," Kuroki started, "I think there's a disciplinary meeting today." Normally, Kuroki had no business knowing that piece of information, but he had over heard two of the other people talking about it in the hall, which allowed him to make an attempt to pacify an already extra-volatile Hiruma.

Hiruma nodded once in acknowledgement, recalling Mamori mentioning having to attend said meeting sometime not long after his encounter with the deranged woman. Hiruma then accepted the fact that Mamori would not be present today and continued to lead the rest of practice without any more difficulties.

Kurita was very thankful that the Hunters had decided to make themselves scarce after what had happened earlier. But the lineman found himself not very thankful to be under Hiruma's firry scrutiny.

"Fatty," Hiruma began, sounding extremely ominous, "you and the old man will be staying behind with me today."

"Okay." Kurita faintly wondered exactly what had transpired on the rooftop that day, he hadn't had the chance to talk about with Musashi.

At the end of practice everyone wanted to kill Doburoku for making them wear the masks (Hiruma included), but no one complained and just walked into the locker room without a word. Musashi and Kurita lagged behind, waiting to have a private moment with Hiruma.

"You both know about my stalkers." Hiruma stated, looking at both of his friends expectantly.

"Yes." Kurita admitted quickly.

"And fucking old man here," Hiruma jerked a thumb at Musashi, "told me that you could explain all this shit that's been happening recently."

"I can." Kurita admitted. "After I shower."

"Fine." Hiruma grunted, allowing his friends to go into the locker room and shower. Hiruma didn't join the team, instead he sat down and set out his plans to counter the Ballista. After a few seconds Hiruma threw his pencil across the room, embedding it into the door, having realized that it would be impossible to work on anything football-related while his mind was so wound up.

"Dammit." Hiruma growled in frustration. After taking several deep breaths in a vain attempt to calm himself, Hiruma decided to pull out his computer and make a list of all the strange shit that had happened to him that day.

_'It started when that woman showed up.'_ Hiruma thought as he began to type. _'…Why did she come?'_

Hiruma stopped and thought about the woman, she had come with the intention of telling him something and began by addressing him as 'her son'. That's when Hiruma began staring at her, because that statement hadn't made a whole lot of sense to him at the time. But it didn't change the fact she had come, intending to tell him something.

_'…And being an idiot, I chased her off before she could actually tell me.'_ Hiruma mentally kicked himself. He hadn't made a mistake like that in a long while. _'Maybe all this stalking shit is finally getting to me.'_

Hiruma's fingers frozen suddenly while another thought crossed his mind; he had just written down a physical description of the woman and was staring at it.

_'Pointy ears,'_ self-consciously, Hiruma touched his own, _'fangs,'_ with his tongue, Hiruma felt around his pointy teeth, _'bleach blond hair,'_ with a quick jerk Hiruma pulled a hair off his head and held it in his hand to look at.

_'Her facial features are similar to mine too.'_ Hiruma's eyes widened, surprise covering all his features.

"What if she wasn't lying?" Hiruma couldn't help but to mutter out loud. Hearing his own voice echo the words made them more real in his mind. Hiruma shut his eyes and toyed with the idea of assuming the strange woman was his real mother.

_'Yuuya resents me because I was born out of some affair he had.'_ Hiruma thought about all his previous interactions with his father. There had always been an underlying shame and hostility in his father's voice. _'And he wanted to change my appearance so that I'd look less like my mother.'_

_'That does explain a lot of things….'_ Hiruma decided it might not have been so far-fetched for the strange woman to be his birth mother. It was almost comforting to see that his birth defects hadn't just come out of nowhere, he'd inherited them.

_'But what does this have to do with the fucking purple stalkers?'_ Hiruma couldn't help but to ponder. It was entirely possible that the woman had nothing to do with them, so Hiruma decided not to press the issue in his mind.

_'What the hell is this 'magic' shit the old man was talking about?'_ Hiruma's eyes narrowed. _'Why does fatty know about it?'_

_'Fuck! Why the hell do I have stalkers in the first place!?'_ Hiruma glared at the computer as if the machine was somehow withholding the answers from him. After a few seconds of glaring Hiruma remembered that glaring at an inanimate object wasn't going to get anything done, so he set the computer aside and walked into the locker room.

He needed a shower more than anything else right now.

_=_=_=_=_=_

I would like to remind you that Hiruma uses the shower to wash away stray thoughts and to unwind (see chapter 4). Please leave a review!


	15. Revealed by Friends

Author's Note: Nothing to say really. Sorry for shortness.

The Story So Far: At the end of an extremely eventful day, Hiruma finally begins to warm up to the idea that his heritage isn't as he originally thought it.

Hidden

By: Bar-Ohki

Chapter 15: Revealed by Friends

Kurita and Musashi were leaving the locker room when Hiruma came in to shower. They nodded once to him, silently agreeing to wait in the clubhouse for Hiruma to shower. The two friends walked into the clubhouse and sat down.

"…What happened to the pencil?" Kurita couldn't help but to wonder as he stared at the pencil Hiruma had stuck in the door a few minutes before.

"…Look at this." Musashi directed Kurita to look at what Hiruma had been writing on his computer.

"He was thinking about Lotem-san, huh?" Kurita remarked as he read what Hiruma had written.

"…I really wish I knew what they had been talking about." Musashi sighed.

"Hey, do you think that its possible that Hiruma can't control his eating at all?" Kurita asked as the thought of it.

"…Lets hope that's not the case." Musashi knew enough about the Elders' personalities to know that their opinion of Hiruma wasn't good. If enough problems arose, Musashi was sure they'd kill Hiruma.

The two fell into silence while they waited for Hiruma to return from the shower. About two minutes later, Hiruma entered the clubhouse, steam and moisture following in his wake. The quarterback tiredly flopped down in a seat by his computer and looked at the other two expectantly.

"…What did that lady tell you this morning?" Kurita asked after a brief pause.

"She claimed I was her son." Hiruma answered curtly.

"Did she say anything else?" Kurita looked at Hiruma intently. "Even if it seemed silly and unreasonable, I have to know what else she said."

"…She told me she was a Succubus." Hiruma answered, not meeting Kurita's gaze. "But that's just a load of shit, right? Succubus don't actually exist."

"…They do." Kurita answered carefully, sensing the denial and distress in Hiruma's tone. "Most people in this world can't sense them, or don't live to talk about it if they meet one, but Succubus really do exist."

Hiruma said nothing and shut his eyes, trying to process the new information.

"…I wasn't trying to keep this a secret from you, I thought you knew." Kurita added, his head falling down in shame. Hiruma's eyes snapped open, surprised.

"Did you-?" Hiruma met Musashi's gaze only to receive a weary nod.

"…So that fucking Succubus lady was claiming that she was my mother." Hiruma said out loud, his expression full of unease.

"…That lady was your mother," Kurita explained, "I thought your dad would have told you."

"That bastard never tells me anything!" Hiruma growled, angry at his father.

Musashi said nothing while he quietly recalled his encounters with Hiruma's father.

'_That man wants his son dead!'_ Musashi was startled by this realization.

During that time Hiruma's quick mind finally processed all the information he had just learned. The quarterback lost his composure and stared at his hands in horror.

"…I'm not human…?" Hiruma whispered, paling in terror. Musashi's voice disappeared, his ability to answer disappearing at the state of his friend. Kurita looked up and was simply horrified. Neither of the two friends had ever seen Hiruma look so terrified and lost.

"Half-human." Kurita managed to say, remembering his father's words. "You're still half human."

Hiruma took a shaking breath and looked at his friend, still unsettled by everything.

"And half monster." Hiruma deadpanned.

_=_=_=_=_=_

Review please!


	16. Revealed Knowledge

Author's Note: Long update! Whee!

The Story So Far: Hiruma has not taken well to the truth, how will this affect his performance in the upcoming game?

Hidden

By: Bar-Ohki

Chapter 16: Revealed Knowledge 

The three friends sat frozen in time, unable to move in the resulting silence. Hiruma continued to stare at his hands, his mind numb with shock. Musashi's voice had disappeared completely, leaving the man to stand there trapped in a wince. Kurita looked worried and tearful, but was still unmoving.

This is what Mamori came upon when she opened the door to the clubhouse. She looked around at the scene, more than a little unsettled by the expression on Hiruma's face. It, sadly, was not too hard for Mamori to imagine what had happened in this room, so she decided to pull the boys out of their stupor. Quietly she stepped into the room and shut the door behind her loudly, making all three boys jump.

"That expression is very unlike you, Hiruma." Mamori commented in a tone that mimicked the mocking one Hiruma always used with her.

"Fuck woman! You have no idea what kind of shit I'm dealing with right now!" Hiruma yelled at her, his numb mind clearing enough to allow him to be angry.

"You're a half-Succubus that has several different magical organizations competing for possession of you." Mamori poked him in the chest accusingly. "And you have a nasty habit of eating my magic!"

"…What the hell are you babbling about?" Hiruma asked her, a slightly confused and uneased expression taking over his features.

Mamori blinked, startled. "…You don't know?"

"Then why don't you tell me, fucking manager?" Hiruma gave her a tired look, he no longer had the patience to deal with antics of any kind.

"Anezaki, why don't you take a seat?" Musashi suggested, finding his voice again. "I think we'll be here for a while." Mamori nodded and sat down.

"Hiruma, you see, people divide roughly into four categories: Mages, Sensitives, part-humans, and normal humans." Kurita explained, pointing at the representatives of each group in the room.

"…A Mage?" Hiruma blinked and looked at Mamori. He couldn't help but wonder if being a Mage had to do with that tasty smell.

"Mages can use magic," Kurita explained, "Sensitives can either sense magic or have some magic-like ability, and normal people are just normal."

"Magic, as in magic from fairytales and shit like that?" Hiruma eyed Kurita suspiciously. "You're telling me that fucking manager here could turn me into a rat at will?"

"I can't turn anyone into a rat but I can turn your hair pink." Mamori smirked. Hiruma turned to send a retort her way when he stopped. Suddenly he was surrounded by the tasty smell, unfortunately he had long since stopped being hungry for the smell, so now it made him nauseous.

Musashi and Kurita were staring at Hiruma in horror. Mamori walked over and handed Hiruma her compact mirror. Hiruma glanced wearily at his friends and looked in the mirror to see that, indeed, his hair was now pink. He picked up one of his discarded guns and pointed it at Mamori's face.

"Change it back." Hiruma's voice left no room for argument. Mamori shut her eyes for a moment and the tasty smell dispersed into the air. Hiruma glanced down at the compact to see his hair was back to normal.

_'Magic's what I've been smelling, huh?'_ Hiruma thought to himself quietly. He handed Mamori her compact and set his gun down. The quarterback had almost completely accepted the reality of the situation and already had new plans spinning in his head.

"So what's this Sensitive shit?" Hiruma turned his gaze to Kurita.

"A Sensitive is someone that can sense the presence of magic." Kurita told Hiruma again. "I just know whether or not there's magic near by, like I know what the temperature is."

"That's it?" Hiruma blinked once.

"Well Sensitives and Mages vary in power, I'm not a really powerful Sensitive…." Kurita explained further, getting a nod from Hiruma.

"So do I have any weird abilities I'm not aware of?" Hiruma couldn't help but to ask.

"Your father told me that you were mostly normal." Musashi told Hiruma after a while. Hiruma frowned, disapproving the fact that Musashi knew about his heritage from the person who should have told him.

"That bastard is a fucking lair." Hiruma remarked, unamused. "Nothing he says is credible."

"…My dad said the same thing." Kurita commented after a few minutes.

"By any chance does the fact I'm a fucking part-human have to do with the reason your dad hates it when I visit your home?" Hiruma couldn't help but to ask. Kurita's father was polite to him, but never seemed to want him around.

"Er, that's more with the fact you eat the protective wards on the temple than him not liking you." Kurita admitted. Hiruma nodded, recalling how Kurita's home always did smell tasty.

"So who are the fuckers in purple?" Hiruma demanded.

"Hunters," Mamori began, "specially trained magical police."

"More like special operations." Kurita added.

"Idiots in tacky purple suits, just punch them before they try something." Musashi told Hiruma the one bit of information that was particularly useful. Mamori simply stared at Musashi, appalled. "What? They don't know how to deal with getting hit in the face!"

"Ke ke ke!" Hiruma laughed at the stupidity of the Hunters. "So these so-called 'special task force' is full of idiots who don't know how to fight?"

"Physically anyways." Musashi commented. "I'm sure I wouldn't win if one caught me by surprise."

"Ah." Hiruma nodded, understanding. "So kick their fucking asses before they can try anything."

"That's what we've been doing so far." Musashi explained. "It seems to work."

"Then we'll stick with it." Hiruma announced. "We've got enough other things to be worrying about, there's no need to complicate anything that doesn't need changing."

"Are you sure you're okay, Hiruma?" Kurita couldn't help but to remember how he looked earlier.

"I'm fucking fine fatty." Hiruma snorted. "It's not like I can do anything about my heritage." It was truth, Hiruma couldn't change the fact he was a half-Succubus, nor could he deny that he had been one all his life, even if he didn't know about it.

Musashi's phone rang, startling everyone. Musashi calmly pulled it out of his pocket and opened it up.

"Hello?" Musashi didn't recognize the number.

_"Takekura-kun! Where the hell are you!?"_ Genkei yelled from the other side of the line. Musashi put his hand on the microphone and pulled the cellphone away from his face.

"It's my boss, he's pissed." Musashi explained and put the phone back to his ear. "Football practice ran late today, I'll be heading over in a few minutes."

_"I'm not paying you to kick footballs!"_ Genkei yelled, still angry.

"But you do pay me to keep an eye on my friend, who happened to decided he wanted to kick footballs with me a little longer than usual today." Musashi reminded Genkei. Hiruma quirked an eyebrow at Musashi, asking a silent question.

_"…Get your ass down here and report."_ Genkei ordered and hung up.

"The Elders know that people are after you," Musashi explained, "so they have me and Kurita keeping an eye out for you."

"Let me guess, the fucking magical government is ran by a bunch of geezers." Hiruma snorted, unamused.

"Pretty much." Musashi ended his call. "All I do is tell them about where you've been so they know what wards need replacing."

"Wards are magical shields that have been placed on things." Mamori explained before Hiruma could ask. Hiruma nodded, realizing that all the things he had encountered that smelled of magic, probably had wards on them.

"Get going before your fucking boss gives himself a fucking heart attack." Hiruma shooed Musashi out of the room.

"You can go fatty, I don't need you here for strategy discussions." Hiruma told Kuirta who was standing around, a little confused.

"…Call me if you need anything." Kurita told Hiruma and left. The quarterback sat down with a loud sigh.

"Here." Mamori had been making coffee for the last couple minutes, she handed him a cup. Hiruma took the cup and took a long swig.

"…Sorry." Hiruma muttered quietly after the two fell into silence. Mamori understood him well enough to know what he'd been referring to. For the past two years of high school, Hiruma had been unknowingly eating her magic, and for that he apologized.

"You didn't know." Mamori forgave him. "…If you really need to some you can, just tell me."

Hiruma was surprised by her offer.

"I don't cast spells all that often, so it doesn't really matter if you eat some." Mamori assured him. Hiruma took another swig of coffee.

"You finished the analysis, right?" Hiruma asked, glancing down at the papers he had set out earlier.

"Yes." Mamori nodded picking up the stack of papers in question. Both teens were thankful to have something normal to do.

_=_=_=_=_=_

As a warning, Hiruma by no means is comfortable with this new information, though he has come to accept it. Leave a review and tell me what you think!


	17. Revealed by Animals

Author's Note: School caused my delay. Here's an update in which we spend some time talking about the other Devil Bats!

The Story So Far: Hiruma knows what he is. He knows who his stalkers are. And he has no idea of just how much shit he's in.

Hidden

By: Bar-Ohki

Chapter 17: Revealed By Animals

Football practice had ended and Sena and Raimon found themselves walking home. As usual, the two were having an animated conversation about football, classes, and that creepy music teacher that no one liked. Their banter was suddenly silenced by the two of them seeing Yukimitsu Manabu, a receiver for the Devil Bats, waiting for them at the end of the block. It was unusual for Yukimitsu to be there because his home was in the other direction.

"Yuki-san?" Sena asked once he was within speaking range of his friend. Yukimitsu had a bird on his shoulder that he was looking at very intently. With a small chirp, the bird flapped its wings and few off.

"Sena-kun, Monta-kun." Yukimitsu acknowledged his friends.

"Why are you out here, Yuki-san?" Raimon asked, a bit confused, "isn't your house in the other direction?"

"I wanted to ask you two for help," Yukimitsu began, "you see, Hiruma-san's had some pretty weird stalkers recently and earlier today he got attacked by them."

"Stalkers!?" Both boys were shocked.

"That's how his shoulder got hurt?" Sena asked after he recovered from the initial shock. Yukimitsu nodded.

"Who would be after Hiruma-sempai?" Raimon wondered, clearly perturbed by the situation.

"…Hunters." Yukimitsu answered after he finished gathering his courage.

"Hunters!?" Sena gasped, frozen in horror.

"What?" Raimon blinked, confused by all of this.

"Are you a Sensitive too, Sena-kun?" Yukimitsu asked upon seeing Sena's reaction.

"You're a Sensitive!?" Sena looked like he was about to pass out from shock.

"…Yeah, I can kind of talk to animals…." Yukimitsu admitted.

"What the hell are you talking about, Yuki-sempai?" Raimon gave both of his friends a weary look.

"I have Golden Legs." Sena explained quickly.

"This may seem a little strange, Monta-kun, but let me explain…." Yukimitsu began to carefully explain the magical world and its workings to Raimon. Sena occasionally added in a little information here and there, which kept Yukimitsu from getting too carried away with his lecture. After the explanation Raimon looked like he had a headache.

"Confusing Max…." Raimon muttered.

"The part that matters is that foreign governments are after Hiruma-san." Yukimitsu quickly restated the part that everyone cared about.

"Oh! So you need our help to protect Hiruma-sempai!" Raimon realized.

"Mmm!" Yukimitsu nodded. "We can't have anything happen to him."

"…What are we going to do?" Sena asked after a minute.

"Well," Yukimitsu began, "I've got all the animals in the area to be keeping an eye out for the Hunters right now. If they find one, I'll text you two to meet up somewhere to take them out."

"That's the plan?" Raimon blinked, it seemed pretty simple.

"All we have to do to neutralize a Mage is knock them out and the best way to do that is to catch them by surprise with speed," Yukimitsu smiled, "and I've also asked the brothers and Komusubi-kun to help."

"Alright! Protection Max!" Raimon jumped into the air enthusiastically, having decided Yukimitsu's plan was without flaw and should be implemented right away. The other two boys proceeded to ignore Raimon's posing and dramatic exclamations about how good a job he planned to do.

"Yuki-san, shouldn't we ask Kurita and Musashi if they can help?" Sena asked Yukimitsu after a while. It would make sense to involve Hiruma's two best friends.

"They are already helping him in their own way." Yukimitsu answered. "I just want to put a little buffer on the situation, especially this close to a match."

"Ah," Sena nodded, "that makes sense."

"I don't think Hiruma-san wants us to know about his stalkers, he hasn't been talking about it." Yukimitsu added.

"That's because Hiruma-sempai wants us to focus on the match and not worry; he's a proud man." Raimon had stopped his antics and returned to the conversation, surprising his friends with his insight.

"You're probably right." Yukimitsu consented.

"We're not involving Taki-kun, are we?" Sena asked, a bit of concern in his voice.

"No, I don't think he's smart enough to be discrete about this." Yukimitsu quickly answered. All boys sweatdropped as they imagined Taki spinning on one leg while telling Hiruma all about the plan. "You two should be heading home about now."

"Ah, okay." Sena nodded.

"See you later!" Raimon waved and ran ahead. Sena bowed and ran off after his friend. Yukimitsu waved once then turned back towards his home, feeling as though a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He spent his walk home musing to himself.

Yukimitsu was a minor Sensitive. He could only communicate with animals if he was in physical contact with them and even then he had trouble understanding them. Ever since he had joined the football team, Yukimitsu had managed to convince the local animals to keep an eye out for his teammates. Because of this, Yukimitsu had been aware of the confrontation the three brothers had had with the Taiyo Sphinx linemen and he had been aware of where Hiruma procured his guns; both of those nuggets of knowledge Yukimitsu had chosen not to reveal to anyone. He was also aware that Hiruma Youichi was not entirely human. The animals did not recognize what the other part of Hiruma's heritage was, but it scared them. His powers as a Sensitive allowed Yukimitsu to know many other secrets, like the truth about Cerberus.

Cerberus, Hiruma's dog, was actually a familiar, Yukimitsu had discovered not long after encountering the creature for the first time. Familiars are sprits that have been bound magically into the form of an animal. Most of the time familiars are either minor Mages or Sensitives of some sort. Rarely do familiars have no powers, Cerberus was one of those rare few. The dog-familiar made up for its lack of magical powers in its teeth, intelligence, and raw strength.

Cerberus had been sent by Hiruma's mother to watch over him and the dog made it clear time and time again that he would kill anything that tried to prevent him from his duty.

Upon his first encounter with Cerberus, Yukimitsu had held out his hand and waited for the dog to sniff it. When Cerberus had touched his nose to Yukimitsu's hand, Yukimitsu told it that he was going to be a quiet student here at this school and didn't plan to cause any trouble. To Yukimitsu's surprise, Cerberus responded with a 'I'll kill you if you don't hold yourself to that'. Their conversation then ended and Yukimitsu didn't see the dog-familiar for the rest of the school year. They had another 'talk' after Yukimitsu joined the football team.

Yukimitsu had assured the animal that all he wanted to do was play football and by doing so help Hiruma achieve his goals. Cerberus quickly decided Yukimitsu was not a threat and recruited Yukimitsu as an informant to help with his duty. Yukimitsu had learned about the Hunters from Cerberus first (the local squirrels told him about it two days later). Yukimitsu had formed his plan to protect Hiruma with Cerberus. The dog-familiar forbade Yukimitsu from involving Musashi, Kurita, and Mamori as those three were already independently working to protect Hiruma.

Like most Hiruma-related secrets Yukimitsu knew, he purposely withheld that information from anyone else he knew.

A low growl from behind Yukimitsu made the teen stop and glance over his shoulder to see Cerberus sitting there. Yukimitsu let out a small sigh of relief and walked over to the dog and held out his hand. Cerberus walked up and touched his nose to Yukimitsu's hand.

_**::**__You told them?__**::**_ The dog asked him.

_**::**__Yes, I did. Now all we have to do is wait for the animals around here to find the Hunters.__**::**_ Yukimitsu answered.

_**::**__Good, come this way, there's someone you need to meet.__**::**_ Cerberus broke off contact and started walking down the street. Yukimitsu grabbed his bag and followed the dog. After a while the two reached a deserted park where one boy sat on one of the swings.

"Him?" Yukimitsu asked, eyeing the boy from afar. The child was about ten, with black hair and pale, pointy ears. It was impossible to make out much more of the child in the poor light. Cerberus let out a gruff, confirming bark and trotted forward to sit by the child's side. Yukimitsu adjusted his bag and walked into the park to sit on the swing next to the child.

"Hello there, I'm Yukimitsu Manabu." Yukimitsu extended his hand to the child.

"I'm Zork [1]." The boy introduced himself in a small voice. "Nice to meet you."

_=_=_=_=_=_

[1] Named after one of the most awesome video game series in the world. Game titles include: Zork, Return to Zork, Zork: The Grand Inquisitor, etc.

Here's a small contest: who/what is Zork? If you get it right, you'll have a cameo appearance in one of my chapters.


	18. Revealed Under the Moon

Author's Note: I thought I'd sit down and tell you who was what and who knows what, yes I know it is long. Be warned: there is a mid-chapter time skip.

The Story So Far: Hiruma is knowingly a half-Succubus. Mamori (a Mage), Kurita (Sensitive), Musashi (normal guy), are completely aware of Hiruma's heritage. Yukimitsu (Sensitive) is aware that Hiruma is not entirely human, but he doesn't know what the other part of him is. Yukimitsu is aware that Hiruma's dog, Cerberus, is a familiar. Yukimitsu has also recently made the acquaintance of a boy named Zork (?). Sena is also a Sensitive, only Mamori, Yukimitsu, and Raimon (normal guy) are aware of this, while Sena is unaware of Hiruma being anything less than completely human. Raimon, the three Huh Brothers (normal guys), Komusubi (normal guy), Sena, Yukimitsu, and Cerberus are plotting to protect Hiruma from Hunters separately from Mamori, Musashi, Kurita, and Hiruma's efforts. Of the entire Devil Bat line up, only Suzuna (normal girl), Taki (normal guy), and the helpers are oblivious to everything that is happening. Shin (Sensitive) is also aware of Hiruma's heritage and is working independently of everyone else to help Hiruma whenever he can.

Hidden

By: Bar-Ohki

Chapter 18: Revealed Under the Moon

During the remaining days until their game against the White Knights, the Devil Bats team noticed a change in their captain. Even Taki, the infamous idiot, realized that something was not the same with Hiruma. The devilish captain had pretty severe bags under his eyes and he skin gave that wrong coloring that only happened when one was not eating right. Musashi and Mamori had figured out the cause of the change, though neither voiced it.

The cause of Hiruma's change was his reaction to being consciously aware of his magic-eating habits. Though Hiruma had accepted that he wasn't human, he was still repulsed by the idea which brought him to the decision of not eating any magic at all. Unfortunately, magic was an important nutrient in Hiruma's diet and living without it was literally killing him. All of the 'what have I done' thoughts that plagued Hiruma's mind kept him from sleeping. To run away from the pangs in his magic-desiring stomach and to run from his own thoughts, Hiruma threw himself into football and school work, often becoming frenzied when neither was cooperating perfectly.

With the game a day away, Mamori decided she was going to do something about Hiruma, knowing how much this would hurt. It was the end of evening practice and everyone else had gone home, Mamori set Hiruma's coffee at his side. Hiruma was typing up a furry on his laptop, he was completely unaware of the world around him.

The devilish quarterback just about leaped out of his skin when Mamori set her hands on his shoulders.

"You're really tense." Mamori commented as she began to message Hiruma's shoulders. "And you haven't been taking care of yourself."

"That's not any of your business, fucking manager!" Hiruma hissed as he jerked away from her hands. Mamori simply rolled her eyes and set her hands on his shoulders again and continued her message. Angry, Hiruma tired to squirm away, but to no avail.

"…What would happen if your body failed during the next match?" Mamori's sudden question caused Hiruma to stop moving. "What would happen if you passed out from hunger?"

Hiruma said nothing as he gazed blankly at his laptop. His imagination was already well aware of the consequences of his actions. Deimon would lose both the match and the chance to go to the Chirstmas Bowl and he would probably do some serious damage to Mamori eating her magic.

"Your life isn't just yours anymore, Hiruma." Mamori pointed out to him. "Your life belongs to your teammates too, they haven't said anything, but they are worried about you."

"It doesn't matter what you've done," Mamori went on, surprising Hiruma with her words, "it can't be changed. All we could hope for is to prevent it from happening again."

"…Do you have any idea how hard it is?" Hiruma asked her after a moment, his voice tense.

"No." Mamori was honest. "But I do know that having special powers carries a responsibility no matter how old you are…. I learned that the hard way."

Hiruma said nothing and chose not to ask about it.

"Fucking manager, if you're going to give me a fucking message, do it right." Hiruma growled when she pushed a little too hard at the base of his neck.

"Only if you eat something." Mamori demanded, her eyes narrowing in challenge.

Hiruma took a deep breath and began to carefully suck in the tasty smell of her magic. Mamori felt a tug on her magic then felt it slowly, gently drain. She smiled and continued to work on Hiruma's shoulders feeling him slowly relax. An unexpected yawn caught her off guard showing her how tired she was. The magical pull stopped.

"…Hiruma?" Mamori asked, her voice full of confusion. A small snore told her all she needed to know. She smiled and proceeded to arrange the sleeping quarterback so that he wouldn't be stiff and sore the next morning. After she was finished she covered him with one of the spare blankets they used for injured athletes.

_'There's one last thing that needs doing.'_ Mamori began to carefully put up wards around the clubhouse. She started with simple wards that made the building hard to concentrate on, then moved up to the complex ones that kept people with ill-will out. After another thought she wrote out a note instructing Hiruma to eat her wards when he woke up, this was mainly because it would be very hard for any of the normal players to get into the clubhouse if he didn't.

Mamori made one last run over the clubhouse, everything was in order and clean. She left the building, making a point to keep her hand on the door until she had finished locking it. The moment her hand let go Mamori felt her spells working in full power, her mind already unable to think about the clubhouse for any length of time. She smiled, satisfied with a job well done and went home.

From underneath a nearby bush, Cerberus was crouched on his belly observing. Not unlike his owner, Cerberus could smell magic and saw Mamori's clever plan. The girl had not only put up wards to protect Hiruma from Hunters in his sleep, but she also made it impossible for him to go without eating some magic the next day. The dog-familiar let out a small growl of approval after Mamori was out of ear shot.

Emerging from the bushes, Cerberus made a circuit around the clubhouse to check the sureness of Mamori's wards. A small thump behind the dog told him he was not alone. One sniff of the air told him who his companion was. Cerberus visibly relaxed and went about his business, ignoring the quiet footsteps behind him.

"Grandpa?" A young boy's voice asked after a while. "When can I play?"

Cerberus stopped and sat down, looking out at the rising moon. The boy's eyes followed the dog's gaze, meeting the full moon.

"…Not for a while, huh?" The boy muttered staring at the full moon in awe.

**-the next morning-**

Hiruma woke up with a yawn. His night had been dreamless and restful; for the first time in days Hiruma felt completely relaxed and rested. With a few breaths he was aware that the entire building was radiating Mamori's magic.

_'Why the fuck is it doing that?'_ Hiruma sat up, the spare blanket falling off him. He looked at the blanket once and realized that Mamori had moved him after he fell asleep.

"Tch." Hiruma muttered and took a glance around the room. Nothing was out of order beyond a single paper on the table. With a few more stretches, Hiruma got off the couch and picked up the paper. The contents of the message were crystal clear: eat the wards off so practice can start.

"Tch!" Hiruma hissed, upset that he had fallen perfectly into her trap. The logical part of his mind reminded him that not eating the magic now would just about kill him during the match. Hiruma shut his eyes and quickly ate all of the wards off the building, feeling full and energized afterwards.

_'I can't avoid eating.'_ Hiruma sighed, resigning himself to the fact he'd have to continue to eat magic if he wanted to survive. Hiruma grabbed a few things and unlocked the clubhouse. He checked the time on his watch, there was plenty of time to head home, shower, and change clothes before he had to get back and unlock the clubhouse for the rest of the team.

_'Almost time for the Devil to challenge the King, huh?'_ Hiruma smirked under his mask. For the first time since he found out the truth about who he was, he felt at peace. So what if he was a half-human, half-Succubus that ate magic to survive? More importantly, he was the quarterback of the Deimon Devil Bats and he had a game to win today. With a small spring in his step, Hiruma left the school grounds to prepare for one of the toughest football games he'd play this season.

Cerberus loyally followed his master.

**-after the game-**

To say the Devil Bats team was relieved that Hiruma was back to normal was an understatement. Even though most people would not enjoy getting tossed out of the back of a giant truck, the team cried tears of joy when they went flying into the massive puddles of water. Even Mamori found herself laughing at Hiruma's antics. Of course the truck had to be stopped so that the players could climb back in and get a ride home. It took a little longer than usual to do this because the Huh Brothers had to fish Yukimitsu out of a puddle (the poor guy was too exhausted to stand back up after his last play) and because Taki and Musashi had to help a basically dead-weight Monta up into the back of the truck again.

"Maybe we should get them out of their uniforms?" Sena suggested as the entire team stood over the two passed out receivers.

"Not me!" The Huh Brothers announced at the same time.

Without prompting from anyone Musashi stood up and began undoing the knots on Yukimitsu's cleats. Sena smiled and went about getting Monta's cleats off. Taki removed both players' gloves and the Huh Brothers looked at each other sheepishly then started to pull off the jerseys with Komusubi.

"What the hell is this?" Musashi muttered while he held the knot in his hands. Yukimitsu had chosen to use some kind of strange and extreme knotting strategy on his shoes that prevented normal people from being able to untie them.

"Your eyes must be failing in your old age, you old man." Hiruma chuckled at Musashi as he walked over to get a better look at Yukimitsu's shoes. Upon a close inspection Hiruma stared at the knots, stunned.

"You wanna try?" Musashi offered Hiruma a be-cleated foot.

"Fucking manager!" Hiruma caught Mamori's attention and pointed at the offending knot. Mamori rolled her eyes and took a close look at it. It would have been impossible for her to untie the knot under her own power, but with a little magic, the knot fell apart in her hands.

"You boys just don't know how to deal with clothes." Mamori shook her head and untied Yukimitsu's other cleat without difficulty. Hiruma rolled his eyes at her and helped pull Yukimitsu's pants off.

Within a few more minutes Yukimitsu and Monta had been stripped, toweled off, and changed into some dry clothes. Mamori had already had a tub of water ready to put the uniforms in. The other members of the team quickly changed into warm clothes, feeling better.

"How are we going to get him home?" Juumonji couldn't help but to ask, looking at Yukimitsu. The entire team knew that Yukimitsu's mother was unaware of his status as a player and often helped him keep up the charade that he was apart of a study group. Explaining an exhausted son to his mother was going to prove difficult.

"When badly wakes up, he calls his mama and tells her that he's staying the night over because it got so fucking late." Hiruma answered.

"Oh, he can stay at my place." Kurita offered without thinking, living at a temple meant he had a lot of room to spare.

"Ah." Juumonji nodded, content with the solution to the avoided conflict.

"We're here!" Doburoku called from the cab after the truck stopped. Ishimaru and Sena opened up the doors of the truck only to be assaulted by bats.

"Gah!" The runners cried as the animals swarmed about all of them clearly upset and worked up by something.

"The fuck!?" Hiruma hissed as he shielded his face from the bats with his arms. Soon it wasn't just bats, squirrels, cats, night birds, and other little creatures were swarming the inside of the truck, screaming all the while.

If Yukimitsu had been awake, he would have cried out a warning to Mamori to shield the truck. If Kurita hadn't been tired, he would have sensed the Mages in the vicinity. And if Mamori wasn't still suffering from over-exerting herself magically the day before, she might have been able to salvage the situation before it was too late.

A mass of Hunters stood just before the truck, using subtitle magics to keep the animals in a frenzy. During the resulting chaos, they cast magic on Hiruma's clothes, pulling him out of the truck and onto the ground before them.

Hiruma lifted his head to take in about 40 Hunters. He tried to think of a way out of this predicament when a sharp pain came from the back of his neck and his world went black.

When Hiruma's body fell to the ground, limp, there was a small cheer from the Hunters. Finally, in the name of the Elders of Northern Europe, they had captured the half-Succubus. They quickly bound him up and carried him away. Once they reached the football field the lot of them prepared a spell and with a loud crack and a flash, they were gone.

And no one on the Devil Bats knew it yet.

_=_=_=_=_

Hiruma comes to terms with his existence only to get captured! What do you think?


	19. Revealed Past

Author's Note: My hope is that I'll finish this story within ten chapters from now, wish me luck.

The Story So Far: Hiruma has been captured by the Hunters of Northern Europe and no one knows he's been captured yet. What a predicament!

Hidden

By: Bar-Ohki

Chapter 19: Revealed Past

Zork had arrived at the edge of the football field in time to watch the Hunters disappear, Hiruma in their midst. With a gasp, Zork ran towards where they had just been moments before, trying to figure out where 41 people could have just disappeared to. It did not take very long for Zork to realize that there was nothing here that he could sense. He needed help and he needed it fast.

The boy dashed off into the night, looking for animals. It did not take him long to find the large frenzied mass of animals that was currently assaulting the Devil Bats' team truck. Zork could hear the cries of distress from the people within, which startled him.

_'A trap!'_ Zork's eyes opened wide.

"Grandpa!" Zork yelled at the truck, hoping that he was heard.

Cerberus, in all this commotion, had been peacefully napping underneath the bed Yukimitsu was currently sleeping on. The dog heard the yelling and woke up. With a glance around he became acutely aware of the current state of chaos the truck was in. He let out a small growl and crawled out from underneath the bed. Most animals steered clear of him, often crashing into other animals or someone's leg to avoid Cerberus. Carefully he steadies himself for a leap onto the bed and waited for a break in the flying animals.

With a small 'thump', Cerberus landed on the bed without trouble. He walked right up to Yukimitsu's arm and bit it. The receiver did not disappoint, he woke right up with a yelp.

Yukimitsu's senses were assaulted with a general sense of panic coming from all of the animals in the truck.

"Wha-!?" Yukmitsu sputtered, confused and half-panicked himself.

_**::**__Calm them boy!!__**::**_Cerberus screamed into Yukimitsu's mind.

Yukimitsu took a deep breath and stopped thinking. Despite being exhausted, despite having weak powers, Yukimitsu opened his mind to the animals around them and spoke gentile words.

_**::**__Hush, there's no need for this. You're all a little confused, just go home. All will be well.__**::**_Yukimitsu managed to tell the animals. He forced a sense of calm into them. Within a few minutes all the animals had left the truck, leaving behind several stunned and confused humans.

"Ungh." Yukimitsu muttered and passed out again, the last of his energy finally spent.

Cerberus let go of the boy's arm and looked around. Hiruma was not there, and everyone was just now noticing.

"Where's Hiruma!?" Kurita gasped, his voice holding in some minor panic.

"Gone." Zork answered, as he climbed into the bed of the truck, drawing all eyes onto him. "The Hunters did something with him." It was still very hard to see Zork since the interior lights of the truck had been broken in the craze of animals.

"Hunters?" Taki, the only Devil Bat that was completely unaware of the situation with Hiruma's stalkers, stood there completely confused.

"Who are you?" Kurita asked, using his Senses to see if there was anything amiss with Zork. Kurita could tell that Zork had something that felt like magic, but wasn't exactly the same sensation, so it had to be similar.

Zork blinked once, not that anyone was able to see that. "I'm Zork."

"What are you?" Mamori muttered, having drawn the same conclusion about Zork as Kurita did.

"Should I tell them, grandpa?" Zork looked to Cerberus for an answer.

Zork was answered with silence and no movement.

"…Sorry, I'm not supposed to tell you right now." Zork muttered. "But that's not what's important! The Hunters kidnapped Youichi!"

"Who the hell do you think you are, brat?" Juumonji approached Zork. "Talking about Hiruma on a personal basis like that?"

"It doesn't matter, he's in trouble!" Zork jumped out of the truck. "Aren't you going to help?"

"Let's see what he has to show us." Musashi took charge of the situation.

"What is going on here!?" Taki demanded, still confused.

"Kurita, Sena, try to get him up to speed." Musashi ordered his teammates as he followed Zork out of the truck. All the remaining conscious members of the Devil Bats found themselves standing at the edge of the football field. Doburoku, of all people was standing in the middle of the field, one of his hands on the ground.

"Something happened here." Kurita muttered as he started to walk onto the field. His Senses were telling him that a large spell had been cast here, but the nature of the spell was beyond his abilities.

"Aye, something did." Doburoku agreed. "A teleportation spell, I'd wager."

"You know about magic?" Sena blinked at Doburoku, stunned.

"Used to be an Elder back in the day." Doburoku laughed without humor. "Kurita, come here."

"Sensei?" Kurita stood next to the man, confused. "But you don't have magic…."

"I was Hiruma-kun's first victim." Doburoku explained. "I was set with the task of watching over him because he was dying."

"Hiruma-kun was dying?" Mamori sounded shocked by the idea.

"Yeah, it looked like he was starving to death and his father didn't know why." Doburoku explained. "So he had me look into it because I had the most experience with part-humans. It took me a week to figure it out and by then my magic had been eaten away past the point of mending."

"…But isn't Hiruma's father a Mage?" Musashi asked.

"Aye, he is." Doburoku nodded. "But you see, Hiruma-kun can't eat the magic of people he's related to. Now, I might not be a real Mage anymore but I'm not without tricks."

"Sensei?" Kurita was confused. Doburoku pressed his hand on Kurita's stomach.

"Now, I'm going to channel some power into you, it should open up your Senses wider than you've ever had before." Doburoku warned Kurita. "I want you to take in everything you can about what happened here."

With a small yell, Kurita found his world opening up exponentially. 40 people had cast a group teleportation spell in this spot. Their destination was a large field right outside of Liverpool, England. It had been a successful spell.

"They went to Liverpool, England." Kurita announced after a moment. Suddenly the world receded and everything turned back to normal.

"Northern Europe, huh?" Doburoku frowned and turned to face the rest of the Devil Bats. "Do the lot of you want to rescue Hiruma-kun?"

Everyone nodded, completely serious, even Zork nodded.

"We're going to need three things then: something to get us to and for England discretely, a plan, and Shin." Doburoku told them.

"Shin!?"

"He's a very powerful Sensitive, I want his help." Doburoku explained simply. "And we're going to have to wait of Yukimitsu and Monta to wake up because we need their help too."

"So we should just meet back up in the morning?" Musashi suggested. "We're all tired from the game."

"Yes, that's a good idea." Doburoku agreed. "I'll get ahold of Shin this evening."

"Wait a minute!" Kuroki pointed at Zork. "What's with this kid!?"

"…I can't say." Zork retorted. "Grandpa didn't say I could."

"…What's your name?" Doburoku asked Zork.

"Zork."

"…Does the name Lotem mean something to you?" Doburoku asked.

"Yeah." Zork nodded.

"Then he can help if he wants to." Doburoku's voice left no room for argument. "We'll meet back here bright and early tomorrow morning."

Everyone nodded and made their way back to the truck. Everyone's thoughts were spinning. Who and what was Zork? Why was he allowed to help? What did the Hunters do to Hiruma? How the heck were they going to get to England?

_=_=_=_=_

What do you think about Doburoku?


	20. Revealed by Conversation

Author's Note: Two mid-terms last week, sorry for the delay. The contest concerning who/what Zork is, is now officially closed.

The Story So Far: Doburoku, the ex-Mage and ex-Elder, is now guiding the 'rescue Hiruma from the Elders of Northern Europe' team. Zork has revealed his existence, but no one knows who or what he is. Yukimitsu and Monta are completely out of the loop because they spent the majority of the last chapter unconscious.

Hidden

By: Bar-Ohki

Chapter 20: Revealed by Conversation

Zork wound up going home with Musashi that evening, having apparently nowhere else to go. This meant that Musashi had some good one on one time with the young boy.

"What does 'Lotem' mean to you?" Musashi asked Zork as they began their walk to Musashi's home.

"…Bush of golden flowers." Zork answered cryptically.

Musashi's response was to raise an eyebrow.

"Lotem means 'bush of golden flowers'." Zork clarified. "Why did you want to know?"

"I thought it might mean something different." Musashi answered honestly. "I met a lady named 'Lotem' the other day, that's all."

"You've met Mom!?" Zork stopped in his tracks, stunned.

"So Youichi is your older brother then?" Musashi asked, looking pretty satisfied.

"Eh!? I didn't say that!" Zork protested.

"Lotem is Youichi's real mother and she's also your mother, does that not make you both brothers then?" Musashi pointed out. "Besides you call Youichi by his given name, not by his surname, as I do."

"…Fine you're right, so what?" Zork was pouting.

"…Are you an Incubus?" Musashi couldn't help but to ask.

"…Yeah." Zork admitted after a minute. "…Grandpa's gonna kill me for this."

"Your grandfather?"

"Yeah, Grandpa!" Zork gave Musashi an annoyed look.

"…I won't tell anyone." Musashi assured the annoyed boy. "I mean I don't really want you to get into trouble because I can't keep myself out of your business."

"I guess its okay then." Zork wasn't completely convinced.

"We turn right here." Musashi pointed out when Zork kept on going straight when he should have been turning right.

"Ack!" Zork turned on his heel and dashed back next to Musashi.

"If it's not too impolite to ask, why aren't you living with your parents?" Musashi couldn't help but to wonder.

"It is." Zork answered with a large frown.

"Is asking what your dad's name is rude?" Musashi tried again.

"Dad? His name was Dalboz." Zork answered.

_'His dad's dead, huh?'_ Musashi noted wordlessly.

"What's Dalboz mean?" Musashi asked; they were almost at his house.

"Dalboz? That means 'the dungeon's great master'." Zork answered. "Zork means 'child of the house of white'."

"Ah, thanks, I was going to ask that." Musashi chuckled. "We're here."

"So this is a human cave…." Zork stared at Musashi's home in awe.

"We call it a 'house'." Musashi was a little stunned by Zork's comment.

"Oo! You have a dinglebon!" Zork pointed at the doorbell.

"That's a 'doorbell'." Musashi corrected Zork.

"No, it's a dinglebon!" Zork pressed the doorbell and it dinged. "See? It dings!"

"...We call it 'doorbell' because it makes the bell chime when you're standing by the door wanting to be let in." Musashi explained.

"'Doorbell' is a funny word." Zork observed. "I'm going to keep calling it dinglebon because that's what it is!"

Musashi sighed and unlocked the door.

"Wow! A footguard-gruaf!" Zork was staring at the shoe rack in awe.

For Musashi, it was a long, long night.

**-the next morning, at the football clubhouse-**

Most of the Devil Bats arrived at the same time that morning. Doburoku and Shin had yet to arrive, and Musashi and Zork had just arrived. Their arrival went mostly unnoticed because the others had been discussing what had happened to their captain. Yukimitsu had glanced to the side in thought and by having done so noticed Musashi and Zork's arrival.

Yukimitsu got his first good look at Zork that morning in the clubhouse. In the light it was easy to see that Zork was related to Hiruma, their bodies were built similarly and their facial features were almost the same; Zork's features were not as pointed as Hiruma's. Zork's hair was midnight black and his skin was a rosy pink. His eyes were large and true blue. Zork's choice of clothes were odd, he was wearing a dark purple skirt and a large, white sweatshirt. He was barefoot which allowed Yukimitsu a good look at Zork's be-clawed feet.

"He looks like a mini-demon…." Togano commented, having noticed Zork's presence. The other huh brothers nodded their heads in agreement.

"Did you not have any clothes to lend him?" Mamori couldn't help but to ask Musashi while she ignored the huh brothers' antics.

"These are mine," Zork glared at Mamori with his startling blue eyes, "you got a problem with that?"

"He wouldn't dress in anything else." Musashi told her, looking tired.

"What is that?" Shin asked as he walked up with Doburoku in tow. The linebacker was looking right at Zork. In Shin's eyes, Zork's aura was like a large, purple flame and felt very inhuman.

"He's here to help," Doburoku answered simply, "and he means no harm."

"He's not any more human because of his intentions." Shin pointed out. "I was just wondering what he was."

"I'm not at the liberty to say." Doburoku answered, taking a small swig of his alcohol. "You'll find out when it's the right time, no sooner."

"Who are you?" Zork asked Shin, having not seen the Sensitive before.

"Shin Sejiuro." Shin, like usual, did not provide an elaborate introduction.

"He's an ultra-powerful Sight Sensitive," Doburoku explained, "he can see auras."

"An aura-seer?" Zork cocked his head to the side, an awed expression on his face. "Wow!"

"That's the most sensible noun you've come up with all day." Musashi remarked, somewhat amazed.

"You're the one that's calling dinglebons doorbells!" Zork glared at Musashi, making himself look just like Hiruma, "you're the one that's got noun issues!"

"Dinglebons?" Monta and Sena muttered to themselves. In their opinion Zork was very much the party with the weird nouns.

"Doburoku-sensei, how are we going to get to England?" Yukimitsu asked the trainer. "Mamori can't teleport us all." Mamori nodded her head in agreement.

"We should start by clarifying who is what." Doburoku advised. "I'm Sakaki Doburoku, ex-Elder of the Eastern Ocean Isles, ex-Mage, part-human expert and Chaneller.

"I'll give Hiruma's introduction because he's not here to give it himself." Doburoku announced before someone else had an opportunity to speak. "Hiruma Youichi, part-human, half-Succubus. Abnormal attribute: eats magic to survive and slightly inhuman features."

"Raimon Tarou," Monta simply went next, "I'm a normal guy with good catching skills."

"Takekura Gen, I'm a normal person who works part-time for Elder Genkei." Musashi introduced himself.

"Ah-ha-ha! Taki, the Gentle, Natsuhiko," Taki spun around on one leg, "I'm blessed by the gods!"

"He's an idiot." The huh brothers quickly supplied.

"Impossible!" Taki fell over comically.

"Juumonji Kazuki, I don't have any special powers." Juumonji introduced himself.

"Kuroki Koji, same thing." Kuroki continued.

"Togano Shozo, same as the others." Togano finished.

"Komusubi Daikichi, normal!" Komusubi introduced himself.

"Kurita Ryokan, I'm a minor Sensitive with magic senses." Kurita introduced himself.

"Anezaki Mamori," Mamori found this whole introduction thing a bit silly, "I'm an A-class Mage."

"What!?" It turns out most people didn't know this information.

"A-class?" Doburoku was a little stunned.

"Yukimitsu Manabu, I'm a weak Sensitive and my ability is animal-speaking." Yukimitsu found himself being stared at by the others.

"How weak is 'weak'?" Doburoku asked.

"I have to be touching the animal and even then it's hard…." Yukimitsu admitted with an embarrassed flush.

"Hmm, that's not completely useless." Doburoku nodded in approval.

"Shin Sejiuro, aura-seeing Sensitive." Shin's voice was serious and monotone.

"Ishimaru Tetsuo, I'm a normal guy that no one notices." Ishimaru was ignored by everyone there except Zork.

"You have a really small presence." Zork observed while everyone continued to ignore Ishimaru.

"It's alright." Ishimaru waved it off.

"Taki Suzuna," Suzuna drew all the attention to her, "I'm normal."

"Zork, son of Dalboz, non-human." Zork introduced himself, startling everyone there. "I haven't grown into my powers yet, so I only have one trick."

"You're not human?" Juumonji stared at the boy.

"Didn't the fangs tip you off?" Zork pulled his lip to the side to show his long, pointy fangs.

"What trick?" Doburoku asked before everyone got side-tracked.

Zork held out his right hand and concentrated really hard. After a few seconds a small, purple flame appeared.

"Ya!" Zork exclaimed in glee. The flame was not big, nor was it particularly hot.

"…You're a walking lighter." Kuroki commented.

"Eh?" Zork looked confused. "What's a 'lighter'?"

Wordlessly, Juumonji reached into his pocket and pulled out a lighter. With practiced ease, he clicked it on and showed Zork the small flame.

"Oh! That's a firspitter!" Zork pointed at the lighter.

"…Were you putting up with this all night?" Mamori couldn't help but wonder. Musashi nodded.

"I guess that leaves Sena." Doburoku looked upon the runningback expectantly.

"Hii!" Sena squeaked. "Umm! I'm Kobayakawa Sena, and I'm a Sensitive with Golden Legs…."

"Golden Legs!?" Doburoku's eyes opened wide in surprise. "…I think we found our say to England."

"Huh!?"

_=_=_=_=_

Can you find all the Zork (the game) references?

Please leave a review!


	21. Sena of the Golden Leg

Author's Note: Again, its time to change the chapter names!

The Story So Far: The men of Deimon along with Mamori, Suzuna, and Shin are about to go to England and rescue Hiruma. Apparently, Sena is their ticket.

Hidden

By: Bar-Ohki

Chapter 21: Sena of the Golden Leg

"Sena-kun, you forget, I'm a Chaneller." Doburoku chuckled at the stunned expression on Sena's face. "I can amplify your ability, so all you have to do is walk us to England."

"We're walking to England?" Togano muttered. "Another Death March?"

"No." Sena shook his head. "I can walk up to seven leagues in one step, that's all."

"How far is seven leagues?" Juumonji asked, looking at Yukimitsu.

"About 39.5 kilometers." Yukimitsu answered. "…There's about 6500 kilometers between Japan and England."

"I can't walk myself that far in one day!" Sena protested, the numbers scaring him.

"Not without help." Doburoku corrected Sena. "Between myself and Mamori we can probably get you to walk half of that distance in one step."

"But I don't know how to take others with me!" Sena squeaked.

"That'll be my problem, not yours." Doburoku assured the runningback quickly.

"…Is there an extra uniform I can borrow?" Shin addressed his question at Doburoku.

"I think so, why?" Doburoku was a little confused by that.

"I don't know why it is, but the Devil Bat uniforms have a magic nullifying aura. I would like to be wearing one if I'm going to be dealing with mages." Shin explained simply.

"That's cause Youichi bleed on them." Zork explained. "His blood had magical absorbing abilities." Several people there exchanged wearly looks.

"How do you know that?" Monta asked Zork, suspicious.

"How do you not?" Zork asked back.

"Now's not the time to be arguing." Musashi reminded both of them with a voice of authority.

"I suppose we should suit up before we leave then." Doburoku consented. The Devil Bats followed him into the locker room. Wordlessly, the team donned their football uniforms, pads and all. Shin was lent Juumonji's away game uniform, since it was about the right size. Mamori got to wear Hiruma's uniform top over her normal clothes while Zork borrowed Sena's away uniform shirt. Doburoku borrowed Komusubi's away uniform top.

All the lent uniforms looked somewhat ridiculous on their new users, with the exception of Shin. Shin looked like the uniform was originally his.

"One moment!" Mamori ran into the clubhouse proper and snatched a first aid kit.

"That's not a bad idea." Doburoku nodded in approval. They walked out onto the football field, standing in a circle around Sena.

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Sena muttered, he was nervous.

"Yes." Doburoku gave Sena a flat look. He and Mamori stood on Sena's right and left. The Mage and the Chaneller held hands around Sena and shut their eyes in concentration. The other members of the Devil Bats simply stood there and stared, watching the scene unravel before them. Sena felt power rush into him, a power unlike which he had never experienced before.

Sena carefully lifted one leg and watched the world shrink bellow him. He saw England, right there within the reach of his leg. So the runningback brought his leg down on the country. Bringing his leg down was the hardest part, the power that allowed him to see England had been quickly depleted, and his own reserves did not last long. Yet Sena persisted, forcing his leg down by will alone.

To the rest of the Devil Bats there was a slight breeze and they suddenly found themselves in a field at night. Sena fell forward, unconscious and sweaty. Doburoku and Mamori caught him easily.

"Are we in England?" Kuroki asked looking around. It was colder wherever they were.

Mamori pulled out her cell phone and turned on the GPS.

"We're in England." Mamori confirmed. "The local time is midnight."

"But it was only 9 am back home!" Togano protested.

"We just traveled half way across the world," Musashi pointed out, "of course the time changed."

"How are we going to find Hiruma?" Kurita asked.

"Dog!" Komusubi cried. The others turned and looked at Cerberus, who was sitting there.

"But how are we going to tell him to look for Hiruma?" Monta asked, knowing that Cerberus had a mind of his own.

"I can ask him that." Yukimitsu assured the others.

"Huh?"

"I can speak to animals, remember?" Yukimitsu reminded them.

_=_=_=_=_

A kind of short chapter, tell me what you think.


	22. Yukimitsu, Animal Whisperer

Author's Note: It turned out that the last chapter was posted on Okami Princess's 21st birthday. Now that doesn't seem cool until you think about that I posted chapter 21 and that said chapter is Sena-centric, hell his name is even in the title! So yeah, the last chapter, was that cool. And, as a warning, super-long update!

The Story So Far: Hiruma's been kidnapped, and the Devil Bats, along with an inhuman boy named Zork and Shin are off to England to rescue him. Sena, their handy source of transportation, is now unconscious.

Hidden

By: Bar-Ohki

Chapter 22: Yukimitsu, Animal Whisperer

A tense silence fell over the group as Yukimitsu knelt down and touched Cerberus' head.

_**::**__I thought I'd do this for formality's sake.__**::**_ Yukimitsu explained. Cerberus made a coughing noise and lifted his nose into the air. The dog sniffed several times. He then went back and butted his head against Yukimitsu's hand.

_**::**__I can't smell anything, this probably isn't the field they came into. Have Kurita check.__**::**_ Cerberus told Yukimitsu.

"He can't find anything." Yukimitsu announced. "…Say, Kurita, is this the field they teleported into?"

"I can't feel anything…." Kurita admitted after a moment's thought.

"I can't See anything." Shin added.

"So we're going to find the field they teleported into?" Juumonji asked.

"If Hiruma left a scent behind, it'd be there." Yukimitsu explained. "You can't pick up a trail if you're in a place the person hasn't been."

"That makes sense." Monta nodded.

"What about Sena-kun?" Taki asked pointing at the unconscious runningback.

"…We'll have to carry him." Doburoku answered. "There's no other choice."

"Do you have anything to add, Zork?" Musashi asked the boy, startling everyone.

"…No, I think that's a good idea." Zork shook his head a little.

"Kurita, where did they teleport to?" Mamori asked as she readied the GPS.

"Liverpool." Kurita answered.

"We're right outside of Birmingham, so they're about 150 kilometers northwest of our current location." Mamori remarked as she messed with the GPS.

"We can totally trek that!" Monta exclaimed.

"It's another Death March…." Togano muttered.

"Seems like it." Kuroki agreed.

"At least we don't have a truck…." Juumonji observed.

"Walking 150 kilometers will take a great deal of time we don't have." Shin observed. "Every hour we wait is an hour where Hiruma-san's life is at risk."

"We could cut through the Underground…." Zork suggested.

"Are you out of your mind!?" Kurita gasped. "The Underground is forbidden for humans!"

"Only humans without an escort," Doburoku corrected Kurita, "back in my days as an Elder I was an envoy to the Underground. I haven't been down in years, of course, but I was one of the few humans that had free passage."

"You still do." Zork assured him. "They haven't sent anyone else down to replace you."

"Really?" Doburoku was honestly surprised by that bit of news.

"Besides, I can hear the echoes from here, there's an entrance near by." Zork pointed out to a small gathering of trees not too far from where they stood.

"What's this Underground?" Musashi asked, wondering.

"The Underground is another world that's beneath our feet." Kurita explained. "It's where all the magical creatures live, well for the most part where they live."

"Sometimes the people of the Underground wander up here and leave some of their magic behind," Doburoku continued the explanation as he started walking towards the trees at Zork's guidance. "That's how Mages came into our society."

"So Mamori has magic because some guy from the Underground gave it to her?" Monta asked, trying to follow the conversation.

"No, one of my ancestors was from the Underground." Mamori corrected. "Some of the creatures down there can take human forms and breed in them…."

"Like dragons!" Zork supplied.

"Like dragons." Mamori nodded.

"You're part dragon?" Taki stared for a minute.

"She's human with an ancestor whose original form was not human." Zork explained for Mamori.

"K-knowledge!" Komusubi remarked, a little stunned.

"Translation!"

"Komusubi explained that Zork is remarkably knowledgeable for someone so young." Kurita translated.

"Knowledge is one of the most valuable things you can trade in the Underground." Doburoku explained. "Having a lot of it is important if you want to survive."

"…What the hell?" Shin stopped. He couldn't see what the actually object was, but he could see the aura.

"You can See it now, eh?" Zork chuckled. "Don't worry, we'll all be able to see it in a moment!"

"See what?" Juumonji asked as they stepped into a clearing.

There was a white house in the middle of the clearing, a perfectly normal white house with a mailbox and everything. Well, the white house was almost normal, all of the doors and windows were boarded up. To Shin the house was radiating a confusing white aura that scared him slightly. It was clear that humans were not welcome here.

Zork walked up to the mailbox and opened it up. He pulled out a pair of gloves, a cloak, a pair of boots, and five shields, one of which had a large spike on it.

"How did that all fit in the mailbox!?" The Huh brothers were staring.

"To Komusubi." Zork read off the back of one of the shields. The small lineman dashed up and took the small metal tower shield from Zork. Juumonji received a medium glass shield, Togano had a huge heavy-looking stone shield, and Kuroki had a small wooden shield. The small, spiked shield went to Taki while Monta and Ishimaru got the gloves and cloak respectively. Musashi had to take off his cleats in favor of putting on the leather boots he received, which fit his feet perfectly.

"We're ready now." Zork assured them as he shut the mailbox and walked up to the house. Carefully Zork tested the boards on the front door, they didn't budge. Frowning, Zork went around the house checking the boards on the windows until on set came off without hardly any work. Not knowing what else to do, everyone had followed him around the house. Without any further ado, Zork climbed through the window and into the dark interior of the house.

"I have guests!" Zork hollered into the dark abyss that was the interior of the white house. Slowly everyone else followed, climbing carefully through the window. Shin handed Sena to Kurita before climbing in himself. Once everyone was inside, the boards flew back onto the window, nailing themselves shut and tossing everyone into darkness.

"What now?" Mamori couldn't help but to wonder.

Cerberus barked loudly. Then the floor disappeared and everyone was falling.

"Whee!" "Ayye!" "Mukaaa!"

And suddenly everyone was sitting in a lush garden, the whole landing part of the fall had seemingly not happened. The sun was shinning and the birds were singing.

"There's a sun here?" Kuroki blinked.

"Is there a reason there shouldn't be?" Zork asked, blinking once. To everyone's shock, Zork's clothes had changed. Now he was wearing purple bell bottoms with a white, half sleeve tunic that went down to the ground (which still had a hood). The too large football uniform top was the only thing that didn't change. Zork simply looked confused by their looks.

"Hemlt armor?" Doburoku was mildly surprised. "How'd you get that?"

"It was Dad's." Zork answered simply.

"Don't you mean helmet?" Taki was confused.

"No, hemlt, it's fire-proof," Doburoku explained, "and it has some other minor protective properties, but its one of the few truly fire-proof things in this world."

"What Doburoku-sensei means by that is that you can't light on fire with magic or by more normal means." Kurita explained. "That's why it's valuable."

"How are we getting to Liverpool from here?" Yukimitsu asked.

"Oh that?" Zork pointed to their left. "We take the Underground's Underground."

"Huh!?"

"He means the subway." Doburoku explained. "Hey, did they ever get around to putting brakes on it?"

"Yes, they did." Zork sighed. "It's really lame now."

"It didn't have breaks?" Mamori was shocked.

"Yeah it this really cool arm-thing that'd pick you up as it flew by. Then it'd stick you back on the platform at your destination the same way! It was fun!" Zork flailed his arms for emphasis. "Now that it has breaks, it's boring."

"Where is this subway?" Yukimitsu looked around, all he could see was more field.

"This way, right?" Doburoku pointed in to his left.

"Yup!" Zork chipped and began walking in that direction. Shin picked up Sena and began to follow the little boy as he led the way across the field. The others followed, feeling a little uncertain. Within a minute they came upon a wooden platform with a hole in the middle.

"Are we going to hop down another hole?" Musashi asked, looking weary.

"Nah." Zork assured them.

"I don't See anything strange about this hole." Shin commented.

That's when the squeaky wheel noises came out of the hole. Slowly but surely, a little platform rose up. A curious little green fuzzball was running in a hamster wheel that was attached to a belt that was pulling the platform up.

"Heya Buzzle!" Zork greeted the fuzzball. It cheeped back at him.

"Is it safe to go down?" Juumonji eyed the platform wearily.

"Yes." Yukimitsu assured them. "There's a magical braking system in place, so at least that's what Buzzle just told me."

"Huh?" "Huh!?" "Huhhh!?"

"Don't you have to touch the animal to talk to it?" Monta was confused.

"Buzzle's partly telepathic," Yukimitsu explained, "he can only talk like this to those who are sensitive to it, like me."

"Woah!" Suzuna was amazed by that. "That's pretty cool, Yuki!"

"Heh…." Yukimistu smiled slightly, not entirely sure how comfortable he was with it.

"Come on, we can't afford to be wasting time here." Juumonji reminded them as he stepped onto Buzzle's elevator. Somehow there was space for the entire group, but barely.

Buzzle squeaked once and the platform began lowering itself down. It was an uncomfortable ride because everyone was packed like sardines. Thankfully the ride was a short one. The elevator stopped and immediately the group got off the platform and stepped into the Underground's Underground. The station looked like a typical European subway station, tiled walls, tiled floor, all including a thin layer of grime over everything. There was a large blue sign that read 'Infidels' Field' on the wall in white letters.

"Huh?" Juumonji was looking at the subway map, which didn't make any sense. It looked like someone had splattered paint on the wall and called it a subway sign.

"Ignore that." Doburoku stepped over to the platform. "It's a lot simpler, you just yell where you are going and the train will take you there."

"That's it?" Musashi blinked. "That's pretty simple."

"Liverpool Gap!" Zork yelled from the platform. He turned around and began counting the people there. "15 for Liverpool Gap!"

"Hurry!" Doburoku ordered. Not long after he finished talking the sound of the train echoed down the large tunnel. Everyone else hurried onto the platform, waiting for the train. The train itself was on a rail that was attached to the ceiling. It looked like a trolley that had come out of a Disney cartoon, and notably there was no driver. The train came to a stop at the platform.

**"Name and purpose, please."** Some nasally female voice demanded as the doors to the train opened.

"Zork, son of Dalboz, apprentice to the Dungeon Master. I'm trying to get my brother back." Zork announced then stepped on without any issue. "These people are with me."

Doburoku then stepped onto the train without any difficultly. "Could you provide us with a seat? We have an unconscious person." Doburoku asked the train as if it was a living thing.

Juumonji got on the train next, looking distinctly uncomfortable with the entire set up. Kuroki and Togano followed with Komusubi and Kurita at their heels. Shin carried himself and Sena onto the train next. The rest filled on without any hassle what so ever. Once everyone was inside the door shut and the train began to hum and vibrate.

"Ah!" Shin cried, shutting his eyes. The entire train had just lit up a spectacular aura that was almost blinding. After a few seconds the humming stopped and Shin opened his eyes to see a chair had appeared in the middle of the train.

"That was freaky." Kuroki had described the chair's appearance extremely well. To Shin the chair appeared normal, even it appeared in a weird way. He set Sena in it.

"So now what?" Monta asked. On cue the train started moving, slowly picking up speed until it was flying through the tunnels, the stations they pasted faint blots of light on what was otherwise a black journey.

"How long do you think this will take?" Musashi asked, looking to Doburoku for an answer.

"The Underground isn't the same size as the Upground, its hard to say." Doburoku explained. "It's the fastest we have right no-!" The train hit the brakes, bringing itself to a curt stop. Remarkably Sena had not been thrown from his chair.

At the station was a short figure clad in a black cloak standing next to a very awkward looking teenager. She had golden blond hair, with wide green eyes and a very uncertain expression. She was wearing fairly normal clothes, a white wool sweater and some blue jeans. The cloaked figure pushed her towards the train.

"Wait!" The girl protested.

**"Name and purpose, please."** The nasally voice demanded again.

"Malhavoc, son of Lucifer." The cloaked figure answered in a smooth, deep voice. "I am simply helping a lost child find her way home." The cloaked figure pushed the girl into the train where she crashed helplessly into Taki's arms. Malhavoc, as the figure proclaimed himself, jumped onto the train in a single, simple bound.

The doors slid shut behind Malhavoc, leaving the Devil Bats alone in a train with a man who dressed and carried himself like an assassin.

"Elder Doburoku!" Malhavoc's red, pupiless eyes were now visible in the train light, though the rest of his face was not. He sounded somewhere between surprised and pleased.

"Malhavoc?" Doburoku blinked once. "As in Malhavoc of Vent?"

Malhavoc's cloaked head nodded once.

"Who is he?" Juumonji jerked his thumb at Malhavoc.

"A person, who in the right places and circles of people can probably be considered important." Malhavoc answered smoothly. "Or someone a lot older than you, youngling. Take your preference at your own discretion."

"He's one of the many people I've had the pleasure of meeting during my trips down here." Doburoku answered.

"…Your words are really confusing." Suzuna commented.

"Or perhaps it is your mind that cannot keep up with them, you can't expect me to honestly be trying to keep up with all the new thoughts of human generations, they happen too fast. It's just not a practical past time." Malhavoc yawned then looked and met eyes with Zork.

"What brings you on this train, young Incubus?" Malhavoc asked Zork.

"Incubus!?" The other humans around turned and stared at Zork, shocked.

"You weren't supposed to tell!" Zork snapped back.

"He's not your enemy." Malhavoc put a light hand on Juumonji's chest before the lineman could do something. "Young Zork isn't big enough to eat human souls."

"What?" Juumonji stared at the cloaked figure.

"This is about Lotem's eldest boy, isn't it?" Malhavoc observed. "He seems to cause a large fuss wherever he goes, what an unlucky child."

"Who's Lotem?" Monta asked, having remembered Doburoku mentioning the name around Zork before.

"Hiruma-kun's real mother." Musashi answered. "Zork's mother too."

"Wait! Zork and Hiruma are brothers!?" Kurita, Kuroki, Togano, and Monta were stunned.

"…Something tells me this can be blamed on their level of idiocy," Malhavoc observed, "you have my sincerest pity." Malhavoc addressed the last statement towards Doburoku.

"What's going on?!" The girl screamed, still very upset.

"The Hunters of the Upground did some pretty moronic spell casting the other day." Malhavoc told Doburoku. "They created a melfin in the middle of a field outside of Liverpool. This child," a pale finger pointed at the girl, "wandered into it on accident, of course. Got herself tossed onto my doorstep while she was at it."

"Ah, you want me to have something done about it." Doburoku observed.

"No, I will do something about that myself, you do something about her." Malhavoc corrected Doburoku.

"Why are you leaving me with an old man!?" The girl cried, somewhat hysterical.

"Taki, why don't you make sure she doesn't hurt anybody?" Doburoku asked the player whose arms the girl was currently in. "It's not like you to dump your own responsibilities on others."

"You're human, she's human, you're looking for someone in Liverpool, she's from Liverpool, and taking care for the melfin is a priority for me…." Malhavoc paused and sighed. "That was the epiphany I hoped you would reach on your own."

"Fair enough." Doburoku consented. "What's your name missy?"

"I'm not going with a strange old man!" The girl protested.

"Would you rather be going with a mass murder?" Malhavoc asked her, shutting the girl up. "That's what I thought."

Everyone took a step away from Malhavoc.

"Is he serious?" Mamori whispered, looking at Doburoku.

"I'm not your enemy today," Malhavoc told her simply, "and I doubt I'll be your enemy unless you make one of me. Take comfort in that, child."

"…Malhavoc is better at bluffing than Hiruma is." Doburoku commented after a while. "It's impossible to tell the lies from truths with him at the best of times."

"But what if I am not one who bluffs, but rather one who simply has done a number of strange and horrible things over the course of my long life?" Malhavoc chuckled. "Half-truths are the most powerful form of lie after all."

"I will agree that he is as dangerous as a mass murder whether or not he actually is one." Doburoku remarked. "He's sensible though, he won't kill anyone unless there's some sort of reason."

"And benefit." Malhavoc added cheerfully.

"I want off…." Suzuna muttered to Mamori.

"Don't worry this, train will be stopping soon." Malhavoc assured Suzuna. After the last sound escaped from Malhavoc's mouth the train slammed on the breaks. Most everyone crashed into one another from the resulting breaking. Malhavoc didn't seem to be affected by the breaking, but he was affected by Sena flying out of his chair and into him. With minimal movement, Malhavoc caught the runningback. Unfortunatly the movement caused his hood to fall back slightly, bringing his face into view.

Malhavoc had a very human-looking face. He was adorable and child-like, if you could get past the pupiless red eyes on his pale face.

"That's the face of a mass murder?" Musashi tried not to laugh. Malhavoc was cute, there was no other word for it.

"Humans find Incubus and Succubus very attractive, yet an encounter with one results in death." Malhavoc pointed out. "Just because I am sinfully cute does not make me any less dangerous."

"Here's your runner." Malhavoc effortlessly handed Sena to Musashi, despite the fact that Sena was taller than him. Malhavoc pulled his hood down and stepped off the stopped train and onto the platform in what appeared to be a normal subway station. Well, it was normal if you ignored the fact that everyone else in the station appeared frozen in time.

"Mamori, you need to cast a glamour on us," Doburoku told her, "or we'll cause a commotion stepping into the station."

"Okay." Mamori closed her eyes and concentrated. With one strange syllable everyone appeared to be wearing more normal looking clothes.

"My eyes itch." Zork complained.

"I can't help that." Mamori told him hotly and stepped out of the train. Everyone else followed her.

"What's a melfin?" Kurita asked Doburoku.

"It's a side effect of casting a lot of magic in one place Upground," Doburoku explained, "basically all the magic resonates with the Underground and it makes a portal."

"Ah." Kurita nodded.

"In other words…." Monta needed a different explanation.

"Basically the Hunters that kidnapped Hiruma made a hole in the ground like the one we used to get into the Underground in the first place. Except their hole doesn't have a have four walls to keep bystanders out." Zork explained, Monta nodded.

"Let me go!" The girl was protesting as Taki led her off the train.

"Missy, we want to help you get home, but first we want you to help us." Doburoku told her gently. "Our friend was recently kidnapped and we have to rescue him, that's why we are in Liverpool."

"I don't trust any of you!" The girl protested.

"That's okay," Yukimitsu told her, "you don't have to. All we want you to do is to give us some directions in a minute, then we'll send you on your way."

By now they the station had started moving again and the group had made their way out of the subway and into Liverpool proper.

"Directions? All you freaky people want is directions!?" The girl clamed down a bit.

"Yeah, but one second, we have to figure out where we are headed first…." Yukimitsu held up one finger and walked over to a nearby three were there were some squirrels. Yukimitsu tried to climb the tree and fell.

"Uhh… Yuki-san?" Monta asked. "What are you trying to do?"

"Get to the squirrels." Yukimitsu answered with a sigh. Monta climbed up the tree, caught a squirrel and brought it down without any trouble at all. Yukimitsu took the panicked squirrel from Monta.

_**::**__I'm sorry about my friend, but I really need to talk to you,__**::**_ Yukimitsu told the squirrel, _**::**__One of my other friends has been taken, could you help me find him?__**::**_

_**::**__Friend? Taken? Where?__**::**_ The squirrel looked at Yukimitsu intently. _**::**__Friend back, yes yes.__**::**_

_**::**__Here's who I am looking for,__**::**_ Yukimitsu sent the squirrel an image for Hiruma, _**::**__He's not human, but should have been with many humans.__**::**_

_**::**__Purple humans. Lots purple humans!__**::**_ The squirrel sent him an image of a building where several purple suited people were walking in. There was a red something on the shoulder of one of the people.

_**::**__Thank you.__**::**_ Yukimitsu released the squirrel and watched it run back up the tree.

"I know what the building they took him too looks like." Yukimitsu announced. "Hopefully you can help us find it, ma'am."

_=_=_=_=_

Please excuse the Zork references and tell me what you think!


	23. Doburoku, Knowing Elder

Author's Note: Okay, it's been a while since my last update, I'm sorry it's taken so long.

The Story So Far: Sena's out cold, Yukmitsu knows what the building they are trying to get into looks like, and Hiruma's status is still unknown. Somehow they've managed to survive a train ride with a mass murderer and had some random girl from Liverpool join their group.

Hidden

By: Bar-Ohki

Chapter 23: Doburoku, Knowing Elder

"What the hell did you do to that squirrel!?" The blond girl squeaked, mortified by what she was seeing.

"I asked it if it's seen my friend." Yukimitsu answered her. "It had."

"You're all freaks, aren't you?" The girl pointed an accusing finger at everyone there.

"No, I'm normal." Musashi corrected her.

"What's with the clothes you were wearing!?" The girl demanded.

"It was an American Football uniform." Juumonji told her simply. "We all play American Football."

"American Football?" The girl blinked once. "Then what were you doing on that train?"

"Trying to get to rescue our friend, he got taken by other 'freaks' if you will." Musashi explained.

"Oh!" The girl suddenly seemed to understand. "So you guys are good freaks and the people who have your friend are bad freaks?"

"Well, not all of us are 'freaks', but yes, that's true." Mamori nodded.

"The building we're trying to get to I think has a stucco exterior," Yukimitsu described, "seven main floors, there's a clock tower on top, with two copper domes on either side. Uhh… I think there's a Pegasus on top of the clock tower."

"…I think I know what you're talking about…." The girl admitted, looking confused. "Why would you want to be going there?"

"That's a really dumb question." Juumonji observed.

"It's a court building." The girl explained. [1]

"The hell?" Musashi muttered.

"You okay?" Zork asked, looking confused.

"The Elders in Japan use a court building too…." Musashi muttered, awed.

"…The guys in Southern Europe started that fad." Doburoku explained. "Not that it matters particularly."

"…Could you show us the way?" Shin asked the girl. "We're in a hurry."

"…I don't-" The girl was staring at Zork, as was Mamori.

"…Cute." Both girls muttered and started giving Zork hugs.

"Huh?" Huh!?" "Huuuh!?"

"I didn't want to do this…." Zork muttered, embarrassed.

"…What did you do!?" Monta gasped.

"Incubus and Succubus have the natural ability to lure in prey," Kurita explained, "by appearing extremely attractive to them. I think Zork's using it right now."

"But he comes off as 'cute' rather than 'sexy' because he's only a child." Doburoku explained.

"…You can make females find you adorable at will?" Togano wasn't sure how he felt about that.

"Yeah." Zork sighed as Mamori began to brush his hair with her fingers. "Ma'am, could you please direct me to that court building thingy Yuki-san was talking about?"

"Anything for you sweetie!" The girl smiled, trying to hold back squeals.

"What's her name anyways?" Kuroki couldn't help but to wonder.

"What's your name, ma'am?" Zork asked the girl.

"It's Rae." Rae answered, still smiling. "Come on, it's this way."

Navigating Liverpool proved to be unexpectedly difficult; the same power Zork used to keep Rae interested in helping them attracted a lot of unwanted female attention. Getting through crowds of females proved to be annoying and difficult.

"Zork, why don't you see if we can get a ride from one of these ladies?" Doburoku asked after about five minutes of being trapped in the female horde.

"Can me and my friends get a ride!?" Zork called loudly into the crowd.

About twenty minutes later they found themselves on a bus, being driven directly to the court building.

"What's the address of the building?" Doburoku asked Rae as they sat on the bus. Rae answered.

"…Hmm, they didn't change it." Doburoku observed.

"You knew where it was all along!?" Kurita gasped, stunned.

"Not exactly," Doburoku corrected Kurita, "I didn't know whether or not they took Hiruma there, and I didn't know if they changed which building it was."

"You know the interior." Shin pointed out bluntly.

"Assuming they didn't change it." Doburoku frowned as he thought for a minute. "Zork, could you get Mamori to give up her clipboard?"

Zork demonstrated that when you were irresistibly cute, you can get girls to do anything for you easily.

"…Do you think you could Rae to take off her shirt?" Kuroki asked suddenly, stunning everyone.

"And the point of that would be?" Zork asked, looking confused.

"…There isn't one." Musashi told the boy simply.

"Yeah, but I'm not going to do it." Zork answered.

"Make Mamori take hers off!" Monta demanded.

Cerberus growled loudly, startling everyone.

"N-no." Zork looked a little scared.

Doburoku ignored the antics of the perverts as he began sketching down various things on the clipboard.

"What's that?" Yukimitsu asked as he tried to get a better look.

"A map." Doburoku answered. "I think this is where they'd be keeping Hiruma."

The room in question was located in the bottom of the building in a particularly isolated corner.

"If for some reason Hiruma got out, he'd cause the least amount of damage this way," Doburoku explained, "and it would be easier to contain him."

"…That's morbidly appropriate." Musashi agreed, looking at the map.

"Also this happens to be their magical containment wing," Doburoku explained, "they keep all sorts of strange things down there that can't be contained with normal magic."

"If they haven't changed it." Juumonji pointed out.

"Doubtful," Doburoku shook his head, "some of the things there can't physically moved without tearing a hole in reality, even if they changed building this part of it would still be under their watch."

"…Would they keep an Incubus down there?" Zork asked after a long pause.

"…I'm sure this is where they kept Dalboz prisoner." Doburoku answered.

"Dalboz?" Togano recognized the name from somewhere.

"Ah ha ha!" Taki announced. "Dalboz was young Zork's uncle!"

"…He was my father you idiot!" Zork hissed at Taki.

"Impossible!"

"Your father?" Musashi blinked.

"…The Incubus clan that Zork is from had a long conflict with the Elders of Southern Europe," Doburoku explained, "Dalboz had come Upground to negotiate peace and the talks went horribly…. Dalboz was taken prisoner in the end and died under the care of the fools here in Northern Europe."

"They killed him?" Juumonji gasped.

"The same way you kill a pet bird, by not taking care of it properly." Doburoku explained. "Incubus need to eat souls to survive, if they don't get enough or too much of the wrong kind, they get ill and die."

"Not just souls, we need meat and plants too." Zork explained.

"There are different kinds of soul?" Shin asked, curious.

"Yes, that's what you See." Doburoku explained to Shin. "Sensitives' souls are poisonous to Incubus."

"…You mean they mis-fed Dalboz to death?" Kuroki looked a little disgusted.

"And they wouldn't let us have his body." Zork sounded upset by this.

"…Incubus, like many of the people that inhabit the Underground, their bodies have special properties usually. Incubus bones turn into very potent Mediums without much work. And their blood can neutralize any acid."

"So they hacked his body apart and used it for their own purposes?" Kurita looked ill.

"Its like skinning an animal you killed," Doburoku explained, "the Elders don't see the people of the Underground as anything more than monsters. It doesn't surprise me they mistreat the dead like that."

"…If it's possible," Zork asked, "could we find Dad's remains and take them home?"

"Of course!" Monta exclaimed. "Those bastards don't have a right to do that!"

"Yah!"

"…Thank you." Zork smiled.

The bus stopped, they had arrived.

_=_=_=_=_

This chapter didn't want to come, please comment!

[1]- The building is from a picture I found on the internet of an actual building in Liverpool. Unfortunately I don't know its actual use, so I'm just guessing.


	24. Ishimaru, the Unnoticed

Author's Note: Not much to say, had to drop a nasty math class, which means I have less worries on my back.

The Story So Far: They have arrived at the headquarters of the Elders of Northern Europe, the place where Hiruma is being held. After hearing about the horrible fate of Dalboz, Zork's father, the group is now more determined than ever to get Hiruma back. Sena is still unconscious.

Hidden

By: Bar-Ohki

Chapter 24: Ishimaru, the Unnoticed

"So this is it." Juumonji commented as they stepped off the bus.

"Looks very plain." Kuroki added.

"Like Ishimaru-sempai." Togano agreed.

"…Where is Ishimaru-sempai?" Monta asked. "Was he with us?"

Everyone looked around and somehow missed that Ishimaru was standing right in the middle of them, waving his arms and screaming.

"…I know he has a small presence, but this is absurd!" Zork muttered as he looked around, somehow missing the fact that Ishimaru was standing right in front of him.

In frustration, Ishimaru pinched Zork, making the boy yelp. Zork turned and looked Ishimaru in the eye, startled.

"Found him…." Zork muttered.

"Where is he?" Togano asked as he looked around.

"…You should take that cloak off." Zork suggested, having realized the problem. Ishimaru blinked once and took the cloak off. People started noticing him again.

"You were right there?" Musashi looked confused.

"Why did you take your cloak off?" Shin asked, confused.

"…It made me invisible." Ishimaru remarked. Doburoku examinied the cloak closely.

"No, it amplified your physical characteristics." Doburoku corrected. "If you looked intimidating to others, this cloak would make you several times more intimidating."

"…So it makes Ishimaru less unnoticeable?" Juumonji blinked, stunned by the thought.

"…Why don't you scout ahead?" Shin suggested.

"Umm… okay." Ishimaru agreed. He threw the cloak back on and began to move towards the building.

"Take the map!" Doburoku yelled before Ishimaru could get too far. The track star quickly came back, took the map, and walked into the building hearing 'where'd your map go?'. Ishimaru used the map to find the entrance into the magical part of the building. It was a janitor's closet and fortunately the door was unlocked.

On the other side of the brooms was a small lever, Ishimaru pulled it, causing the wall to open up and reveal a large ballroom. Ishimaru checked his map and headed to the far end of the ballroom where he found a small black door. Beyond the black door were stone stairs.

Ishimaru descended the stairs without any difficultly. It was remarkable how he had not run into any people so far. Upon reaching the bottom of the stair, Ishimaru found himself in a place that reminded him of the pictures of dungeons out of his childhood fairytale books. Carefully, Ishimaru walked around, glancing into the cells as he went. For the most part they were dark and empty. The ones that were lit usually had something in them; strange looking objects that made your skin crawl. There was a wooden doorway in the middle of the corridor. The door was open and beyond it Ishimaru could see a hospital-looking corridor.

Doburoku's map told him to go into the doorway, so Ishimaru did. The doors here looked like hospital wards, each one having a little window. The lit ones had things that moved in them, mostly unrecognizable horrors, but moving things all the same. Ishimaru continued his way down the corridor, feeling slightly sick, until he almost crashed into the first human he had seen since he walked into the building.

She had long, dark brown hair and pale green eyes. She wore a lab coat and a concerned frown. Of course, she was completely oblivious to Ishimaru's presence. Carefully the runner circled her, trying to figure out what she was doing, what she was thinking.

"Hmm…." The woman muttered, trying to figure something out. She turned and pressed a secret button on the wall, which opened up a computer terminal on the other side of the room. She dashed over to the terminal and started typing, logging into the system. Ishimaru watched her as she pulled up a file.

Hiruma's file.

It appears as though the Elders of Northern Europe had been watching Hiruma for several years and collected a lot of information on him, including his list of slaves. The woman seemed to be intently reading Hiruma's list of 'close friends'. Much to his surprise, Ishimaru was on that list.

"If only…." The woman muttered, continuing to frown. She shook her head and put the computer away, letting it slide back into the wall. After taking a deep breath and squaring her shoulders, the woman marched down the hall. Curious, Ishimaru followed her down the hall. She stopped outside the final door.

It wasn't really a door as such, it was more like an airlock. Carefully the woman began to unlock the large metal contraption that had strange things sticking out of it in a complex pattern. And by strange things we mean anything from a rubber duck to a half-eaten shoe to a piece of coal. Once the door was open there was another wooden door, this one had a much simpler lock on it (just a key).

And after the woman opened that door, Ishimaru got his first look at Hiruma.

It wasn't a pretty sight.

_=_=_=_=_

Ishimaru has found Hiruma! But what has befallen our beloved quarterback?


	25. Zork, Incubus of the Underground

Author's Note: Not much to say, had to drop a nasty math class, which means I have less worries on my back.

The Story So Far: Ishimaru has found Hiruma while the others wait outside.

Hidden

By: Bar-Ohki

Chapter 25: Zork, Incubus of the Underground

The most striking thing about Hiruma's current appearance was the fact that he had been wrapped up in bone chains. The second striking thing was the bag of blood that was filling up on Hiruma's left. There were several bags of blood in the room and Hiruma looked particularly pale and sickly. On the arm that wasn't giving blood, there was an IV that was dripping nutrients into Hiruma. Several glowing balls of light fluttered around Hiruma that Ishimaru swore had to be magical. They seemed to be diming slowly, but it was kind of hard to tell. The expression on the quarterback's face was blank and relaxed. He looked severely drugged.

The woman walked over and put on a pair of forest green leather gloves. Carefully she removed the blood bag, bandaged Hiruma up. She checked his temperature and pulse, writing the results down all the while. Ishimaru looked over her shoulder.

Hiruma was running a fever and his pulse was low.

Carefully the woman set a gloved hand on Hiruma's forehead. She stood there, concentrating hard on something, then removed her hand with a sigh.

"I know you can't hear me," the woman began, "but I will get you out of here."

Ishimaru decided this woman was probably on their side, she seemed really upset by Hiruma's physical deterioration. After some thought Ishimaru decided to run out and alert the others of the developments. Uncloaking himself, Ishimaru came at the others in a run. No one said anything right away.

"What did you see?" Doburoku asked.

"Bones!" Ishimaru gasped. "They tied him up with bones!"

"…That's morbid." Musashi commented, his expression one of disgust.

Zork, Doburoku, and Mamori didn't say anything but they all looked disgusted and annoyed.

"They're probably elfin bones…." Doburoku commented after a while, receiving blank stares from most of the people there. "Certain creatures' bones work as Seals for a creature of the opposite type."

"Elves are considered to be opposites for humans." Mamori added. Several nods of understanding began after her comment.

"Which means of course, that humans can't touch them without serious consequence." Kurita realized.

"Wait, how did they get the bones on in the first place?" Juumonji couldn't help but to ask.

"All Elders have these enchanted gloves that allow them to adjust Seals," Doburoku answered, then he smacked his forehead, "I left my pair back home."

The Huh brothers proceeded to kick their trainer around in their resulting annoyance.

"…Wait, can you touch them?" Yukimitsu asked Zork, stopping the kicking of Doburoku instantly.

"Physically as long as they aren't Succubus bones, yeah." Zork admitted with a small grimace.

"Are you okay?" Monta asked.

"Bones are sacred to Incubus and Succubus." Doburoku explained. "It's considered a great disgrace to touch the bones of the dead in their culture."

"Oh Zork…." Mamori muttered, feeling sorry for the boy.

"Using bones as Seals is unforgiveable." Zork told her pointedly. "I'd rather touch them than leave them to be abused them like that."

"Wait, there are elves?" Kuroki was stunned by this and was being extremely slow.

"Malhavoc is an elf, actually," Doburoku commented, "well over seven centuries old too."

"You're shitting me." Togano protested.

"Part of me sincerely wishes I was." Doburoku agreed with Togano's sentiment. "But Malhavoc's race has very little to do with our task at hand, we have to get Zork down there to remove the bones."

"And then get the two of them out safely." Shin added. "During that time someone must also watch over Kobayakawa."

"There's also a woman down there." Ishimaru added. "She seems to want to break Hiruma out, but I'm not too sure."

"Well, I can go down there and-" Mamori began, having been about to offer to use her magic.

"You can't, they'll know the moment you set foot in the building." Doburoku warned her. "And if they know that there are intruders, our options become very limited."

"I can't?" Mamori blinked.

"They have detection spells in place, if you walked in it would raise an alarm." Doburoku explained.

"I can't See any." Shin remarked as he stared intently at the building.

"I'm sure that they have some spells in place that render Sensitives useless as well, if they are anything like the Elders back home they do." Doburoku used an assuring tone. "They might even have gone as far as to put detection spells in place to alert them if Sensitives come inside."

"But Ishimaru-sempai just walked in and didn't get noticed!" Monta protested.

"Exactly." Doburoku grinned. "They don't put spells that alert them if a normal person walks in, that's why Ishimaru is able to move around inside freely."

"So it's up to us," Musashi gestured to himself, the three brothers, Komusubi, Monta, Taki, and Suzuna, "to get Hiruma back?"

"But don't we need Zork?" Suzuna pointed out.

"…That might be an issue." Doburoku frowned, not knowing exactly what to do about that.

"…Why don't we hide him under Ishimaru's cloak?" Juumonji suggested. "It made Ishimaru-sempai disappear."

"Let's try it out here first." Shin advised them wisely.

Zork stood in front of Ishimaru while the track captain threw the cloak over both of them. Ishimaru disappeared, but Zork remained. The young Incubus looked several times more inhuman than he had before, everyone took a small step back, a bit freaked out.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Zork asked, his voice sounding sinister for some reason.

"Wasn't he supposed to disappear?" Taki asked, looking dumfounded.

"Ishimaru, why don't you take off your cloak?" Kurita suggested. Ishimaru pulled off the cloak, making Zork look more human and Ishimaru noticeable again.

"It's not an invisibility cloak," Shin announced after a moment, "I think it amplifies the physical characteristics of the wearer."

Ishimaru looked like he was going to cry at this news.

"Let's get going," Zork suggested, "it's doing Youichi no good if we're standing around here."

"Zork?" Mamori started, not sure what to think of the tone Zork used. The Incubus had sounded angry.

"I have to go down there and remove the bones, we don't have a choice, so let's just go!" Zork snapped, his fangs flashing.

"Alright! Rescue Max!" Monta caught his own punch.

The brothers, Komusubi, and Taki readied their shields, looking more focused than they had moments before. Musashi looked like he was ready to literally kick the living shit out of anything that got in his way.

"I'll go first." Ishimaru announced.

"Just remember to take off your cloak to signal us." Musashi reminded the track captain.

Zork's entry into the building appeared not to set off any alarms, so the group quickly made their way down to where Hiruma was being held. They didn't see any people and there were no alarms. Eventually they reached the hospital-like hall that contained both Hiruma's cell and the strange woman.

"Creepy Max…." Monta muttered as he looked around the corridor.

"…There's a bezzletrup in here." Zork clasped his hands over his nose.

"Is that a problem?" Juumonji asked, looking around wearily.

"Not really, they just smell." Zork muttered.

"I didn't smell anything the first time." Ishimaru remarked.

"…I might have a more sensitive nose than you." Zork admitted after a moment. "I don't know how sensitive humans are to smells."

"Come on." Musashi grunted, continuing to walk down the hall and ignoring the antics of his companions. Ishimaru had taken off his cloak and walked along side Musashi.

"If it comes to a fight, throw that thing on and punch anything you see." Musashi told Ishimaru simply. Ishimaru nodded, understanding the meaning completely.

"Zork-kun, do you think our shields do any cool stuff like Ishimaru's cloak does?" Kuroki asked the boy.

"Certainly, I pulled them out of the message fort didn't I?" Zork had a small smile.

"'Message fort'?" Togano frowned.

"Huh?" Juumonji didn't get it.

"I think Zork means mailbox." Musashi translated. "If you think that's strange, you should see what he calls a fork."

"Stabonner?" Zork blinked, "why do you keep on insisting a stabonner is called a fork?"

Everyone sweatdropped and said nothing, thinking Zork's choice of noun was, though descriptive, pretty strange.

Then they were there, before the large airlock-like door that stood between them and Hiruma. It had been shut in the time Ishimaru had been gone and they had not seen the woman on their way over.

"…How do we open it?" Juumonji couldn't help but to ask.

"Power?" Komusubi suggested. Unfortunately no one else there understood him.

"Ah ha ha!" Taki spun on one leg. "Why don't you just pull the handle?"

"…There isn't handle to pull." Musashi observed.

"Impossible!" Taki gasped.

"…Let me try something." Zork walked over to the door and set both of his hands on it and shut his eyes.

"Rezrov!" Zork yelled suddenly, green light shot from his hands and arched around the door, making it glow orange. The random items that had been imbedded into the door glowed purple then, with a loud pop, flew off the door. Once the last object flew off the door, all the glowing and whatnot stopped and, with an almost inaudible click, the door swung open slightly.

Zork fell to his knees, panting and sweating. It was obvious that what he had done was no easy feat.

"I think they know we are here now." Musashi muttered as they heard a lot of sounds of commotion above.

Monta didn't say anything and just grabbed the door edge and pulled it open. Juumonji picked Zork up and threw him over his shoulder. The linemen rushed through the door Monta opened, shields up. Ishimaru threw his cloak on and shoved Monta inside after the others, staying to stand watch outside the door.

The woman had heard the commotion and was now standing on the other side of Hiruma, holding a bag of his blood and looking somewhat scared.

"H-hello!" The woman managed, completely freaked out.

"Back away, we're breaking him out." Juumonji told her, holding up his shield expectantly.

"Feel free." The woman calmed down and put the blood away as if it was the most normal thing to do.

"…You really want him out of here?" Musashi asked her while Juumonji set Zork down in front of his brother. The boy paled.

"These are Dad's!" Zork wailed, making Musashi's conversation become forgotten.

"Your dad's bones?" Suzuna simply stared, horrified.

"They had to use Incubus and elfin bones to Seal him." The woman explained simply. She handed Musashi a cooler full of Hiruma's blood.

"What's this for?" Musashi asked her as Zork began to move the bones, trying not to cry at the same time.

"I don't know what they plan to do with his blood, but I know it's not a good thing." The woman ranted. "They don't care what they did to him!"

"Carry?" Komusubi asked pointing at the bones.

"I'll have to carry them, no one else can." Zork muttered as he removed the last of them.

"Do you have a bag?" Monta asked the woman.

"Oh! Yes." She dashed around and found a sack. Zork blinked once and put the bones in the sack.

"Who are you?" Musashi demanded.

"Ayla Pazzo." Ayla answered. "The Elders sent me to work here, but it's horrible…."

"I suppose you might want to be coming with us then," Ishimaru suggested, "because I think the Elders are here."

_=_=_=_=_

Another cliffie!


	26. Monta Catch Master, Musashi 60 Yd Magnum

Author's Note: …I really need to wash my dishes more often. …Nothing else to say today.

The Story So Far: They found Hiruma and set off one heck of an alarm while getting him free. Now they are dealing with a semi-conscious Hiruma, an exhausted Zork, and some strange lady named Ayla who works for the Elders or something. Now the enemy is on them.

Hidden

By: Bar-Ohki

Chapter 26: Monta, Catch Master

Musashi, 60 Yard Magnum

"Shit." Musashi muttered. Monta and Musashi rushed through the door, being closest to it. It turned out that Ishimaru's warning hadn't been completely accurate; there were several Hunters in the corridor, which didn't spell anything good. One of the Hunters held up his hand and yelled something that sounded like a dog's bark. A large green glowing ball came flying at them.

Monta took a stance that made jumping easy and with a small shift of his feet, he reached out and caught the ball that had been aimed at Musashi's head. The Hunters gasped, apparently that wasn't supposed to happen. Musashi took a few steps back and assumed a kicking stance. Monta didn't need to be told anything, he knelt down and held the green ball like a propped football. Musashi rushed forward and kicked the magical ball, which turned it into a large flaming ball of magma.

Several of the Hunters looked like they were about to shit themselves as the ball of magma came flying at them.

"Can't say I was expecting it to do that." Musashi remarked as he watched the Hunters panic and run around in circles. A few of them had enough sense to try putting up shields, but the ball seemed to blast through them with momentum alone. Eventually someone made a bouncing spell and bounced the ball into one of the doors. The door, of course, melted instantly.

Something purple and gelatinous oozed out of the room. The Hunters nearest the purple stuff passed out. Several of the others clasped their hands on their noses and tried to get away from the purple thing. All of them ran towards the exit, leaving the purple thing to block the way out instead.

"I'm not sure this is any better." Monta muttered, eyeing the purple thing.

That's when the hideous smell hit them.

"Fuck!" Hiruma hissed with a raspy voice from the other side of the giant door, startling Musashi and Monta. The two ran back into the room to see that Hiruma was currently on Togano's back with watering eyes that only occurred when someone was smelling something hideous. The quarterback was trying to pull his hand up to his nose, but his arms were too weak to rise up properly.

"Bezzletrup." Zork muttered with watering eyes. The bag of bones had been tied onto Zork's back and Juumonji had picked up the boy and threw him over his back.

"You're right, they do smell." Kuroki agreed, grimacing as he held the cooler full of blood.

"How aware is Hiruma?" Musashi asked, eyeing his friend with concern.

"Not very, this is the most responsive he's been." Juumonji supplied.

"L-leave!" Komusubi exclaimed. No one really knew what the lineman had meant, but they all had a pretty good guess.

"The bezzletrup is kind of between us and the exit right now…." Monta explained, a little embarrassed.

"Oh dear." Ayla muttered. "I don't have the equipment to put it back…."

"I kind of burned down the door," Musashi told her, "so I don't think we could put it back if we tried."

"…Is there a grue around here?" Zork asked, sounding exhausted.

"Yes, its right across from the bezzletrup's cage-" Ayla was cut off by Zork.

"Grue eat anything that crawl into their territory, all we have to do is lead the bezzletrup in there." Zork explained.

Ayla paused and ran out of the room and accessed one of the hidden computers. She pressed a button and the door across the hall from the bezzletrup slid open. The purple thing oozed towards the open door and sloshed inside. Once a little bit of it was in the shadows, the rest of it was pulled in.

Once the purple thing was gone, Ayla pressed another button and shut the grue's cage.

"That was convenient." Suzuna muttered.

"Is that door enough to stop the grue?" Ishimaru asked, eyeing the door wearily.

"Grue are afraid of light and weak to things like fire." Ayla explained. "We put a door there to keep people from accidently stepping into the dark more than its there to keep the grue in. I didn't know they ate just about anything they got their hands on."

Hiruma made a loud moan, his eyes trying to focus. He looked like he was in a lot of pain.

"Let's get out of here." Juumonji remarked as he tried to steady Zork, the bones, and his shield. No one needed to be told twice, they all rushed down the corridors as quickly as they dared, not wanting to drop anything they were carrying of course. The group went without any further confrontation until they reached the stairs.

At the bottom of the stairs sat a young woman with red hair and green skin. She was checking her purple nails and looking very bored when they arrived.

"The Incubus bones," the woman said suddenly, "will stay here."

"No." Zork growled weakly.

"…Then you will stay here." The woman raised her hand. Blue light began to grow out of her hand like it was some kind of vine. Monta rushed over and grabbed the vine-like light and pulled it to the ground.

The woman leapt to her feet, hissing and pulling on the vine of light. Monta didn't budge, holding the line between the two of them down against the ground. Musashi ran up and kicked at the line, breaking it and turning both ends into magma. Monta picked up his end curiously, it wasn't even hot! The woman, on the other hand, now had a cord of magma bound to her hand. For some reason her hand caught on fire and she started shrieking.

"Nymph." Zork observed groggily, every passing second he was closer to passing out.

"Oh dear." Ayla gasped as they all stood around and watched the woman burn to death alive. Unfortunately she did not burn quickly, nor did she move from her place at the foot of the stairs.

"This is annoying." Kuroki muttered. Monta responded by walking up and grabbing the woman with his gloves and shoving her out of the way.

"…Will she die?" Musashi asked, concerned.

"When she finishes burning she'll be reborn as a seed." Ayla supplied. "With all of her memories and whatnot, so she wouldn't be dead."

Musashi grunted and began to make his way up the stairs, Monta at his heels. The others soon followed.

"What are we going to do when a lot of them attack us at once?" Ayla asked the two in the lead.

"Figure something out." Musashi responded gravely.

_=_=_=_=_

Shorter than the last two, but it had some action!


	27. Linemen, the Greatest Shields

Author's Note: Finals week is approaching. Gasp.

The Story So Far: Musashi lit a nymph on fire, Monta caught some magic and magma. Hiruma is swearing, though completely unaware and weak. Zork's about to pass out and the lot of them are still not out of the building!

Hidden

By: Bar-Ohki

Chapter 27: Linemen, the Greatest Shields

Upon arrival at the top of the stairs Musashi got caught by surprise by a Hunter. Fortunately, the spell was rendered mostly useless by the football uniform; well, it was mostly useless as it was supposed to be a paralyzing spell and all it did was hurt a lot. With a pained grunt, Musashi fell back against the nearby wall. Monta, thankfully, had been a little more prepared for the magical ambush and managed to catch three spells.

This then proposed a large issue, because Monta had no ball control what so ever and the next action, logically, was to toss the magic back at the Hunters. Monta bit his lip and shot a glance at Musashi, who was slowly getting back to his feet. Deciding to risk it, Monta threw a magical ball in the general direction of the Hunters.

Monta wound up hitting himself in the face with what should have been a fire spell. Thanks to the protection of the uniform, Monta only got sunburned on his face, rather than having his face lit on fire. He dropped the other two spells, which bounced off the floor and rolled towards the Hunters' feet. One of the Hunters dispelled the two remaining spells.

"Think you're clever, eh?" The front Hunter taunted. Monta simply stood in front of Musashi, trying to protect him from any further spells that might be sent their way.

"I'll be okay." Musashi grunted, his body still tingling from the spell. Monta nodded once, staying alert for more spells.

Taki came bounding up the stairs next, startling the Hunters that had been slowly been closing in on Monta and Musashi. The result was that Taki crashed into one of the Hunters. Suddenly the Hunter went up into a pillouette and started going 'ah-ha-ha'.

"Another Taki idiot?" Togano muttered as he came up the stairs with a mumbling Hiruma on his back.

"Get him!" One of the Hunters yelled, pointing at Hiruma.

"Use your shield!" Musashi yelled at Togano. The lineman dropped down onto one knee and set Hiruma onto the ground, he then pulled his huge stone shield off his back and put it between him and the Hunters' spells. All spells that hit the shield were nullified.

"Taki, keep on ramming into people!" Musashi yelled at the confused tight end. Pretty soon Taki had Hunters running from him in order to avoid a complete loss of intelligence. Togano pushed himself forward while using his free arm to drag Hiruma forward with him. Musashi ducked behind the shield while Monta stayed in front to catch spells. When Monta had a spell, Musashi would rush out and kick it, adding to the chaos of the unorganized group of Hunters in front of them.

Kuroki and Juumonji arrived shortly, setting their burdens behind Togano long enough to ready their own shields. Juumonji's glass shield reflected spells back at the caster with a homing missile-like property. Kuroki's small wooden shield didn't seemed to also nullify at first. But after enough spells hit it, it would shoot out a spell of it's own that seemed nasty and left a large bit of destruction in its wake. Komusubi, Ayla, and Suzuna arrived last, startled by the large bit of wasteland between them and the exit.

Ishimaru, still cloaked, bent down and picked up Zork, throwing the boy onto his back. It looked like Zork was floating in the middle of the air, which made everyone recall that Ishimaru was there. Ayla picked up the cooler full of blood and Komusubi picked up Hiruma. This left the other lineman and Musashi and Monta to be able to attack and defend against the remaining Hunters while the party made a run for the exit.

On the other side of the doors, Shin was observing quite the magical battle.

"There's a lot of fighting going on in there." Shin muttered worriedly.

"Why am I here?" The old bus driving lady muttered, still very confused.

"Why am I still following you guys?" Rae muttered, also confused. The two had been in a state of confusion since Zork had left.

"They're coming!" Kurita gasped, right as Komusubi came flying through the doors with Hiruma on his back.

There was a faint gasp when everyone saw the condition of the quarterback.

"Escape!" Komusubi yelled, looking right at the bus.

"Get on the bus, now!" Doburoku ordered, understanding enough of what Komusubi meant. Mamori gabbed both the old lady and Rae with magic and hauled them onto the bus with her. Kurita, Yukimitsu, and Shin quickly followed, not needing to be told twice. Komusubi rushed up onto the bus, managing not to drop Hiruma in the process. Shin helped lay the disoriented quarterback down next to the unconscious Sena.

"Something's horribly wrong." Shin muttered, Hiruma's aura was a mess.

"We don't have time to worry about that right now." Doburoku told them while the 'floating' Zork and Ayla came running onto the bus.

"Where are we going to run?" Ayla asked as she set down the cooler and took a seat next to it.

"Who are you?" Doburoku asked her, eyeing her wearily.

"She's on our side." Ishimaru announced as he uncloaked himself, having already laid Zork down next to his brother. Somewhere during the battle Zork had passed out.

"Why is there a bag tied to his back?" Mamori asked.

"Its got elfin and Incubus bones in it, Zork's the only one that can touch it." Musashi explained as he and Monta ran onto the bus. Doburoku grabbed the keys from the distressed bus lady and started the bus. Juumonji, Togano, Kuroki, and Taki made it onto the bus just as Doburoku shut the door.

Revving the engine, Doburoku took off, driving across Liverpool at illegal speeds.

"Where are we going?" Mamori asked, looking out the back at the Hunters chasing them via magical means.

"The Underground." Doburoku answered. "Shin come here!"

The linebacker quickly obliged. Doburoku took a hand off the wheel and set it on Shin's shoulder.

"I'm going to amply your Sight, I need you to tell me where the melfin is from here." Doburoku warned Shin.

Shin had an explosion of colors across his Sight. Suddenly he could see almost all the magic in the world.

"Keep going straight, we'll run right into it." Shin told Doburoku and his vision returned to normal. He blinked a few times, stunned by all the colors.

Komusbui ran to the back of the bus and held up his tower shield, waiting for an opportunity to use it. Monta was ready with his gloves to catch anything that might be coming their way. Fortunately the Hunters seemed more interested in chasing than casting spells.

"Woah!" Juumonji cried as Doburoku made a particularly hard turn, taking them out of Liverpool and into the fields outside the city. Shin could see the melfin, it was a big white ball of chaos. He silently pointed at it. Doburoku turned the bus off the road, onto the field, and towards the melfin.

"Anezaki, use a projecting spell to warn Malhavoc we're coming!" Doburoku ordered. Mamori rushed to the front of the bus and stuck her head out the window. Ahead, in the moonlight, she could see a small figure pounding a stick into the ground.

**"Emergency! We're coming Malhavoc-san!"** Mamori yelled with an amazingly loud and powerful voice. The figure stopped and seemed to turn around. It pulled the stick out of the ground and rolled out of the way in time for the bus to come crashing by. Mamori observed Malhavoc roll back and quickly finish re-pounding the stick into the ground.

**"Givans-Vorzer!"** Malhavoc yelled, his voice taking on a high-inhuman shrill. Doburoku stopped the bus as a large, red dome of light appeared all around them. There was a light smacking noise as the Hunters ran helplessly into Malhavoc's massive shield. The small elf walked onto the newly opened bus door, looking annoyed.

It seemed as though Malhavoc had lost his cloak, he looked like a small, adorable child, with soft features, pointy ears, and pupiless red eyes. He had unruly black hair and was currently wearing some dark browns.

"It won't hold them back very long." Malhavoc remarked running a hand through his hair tiredly.

"We're going to run this bus through the melfin." Doburoku told them.

"Then do it." Malhavoc told him as he took a seat.

"Your cloak-" Ishimaru protested.

"Oiled wool, nothing special and completely disposable." Malhavoc waved it off.

"When you are magical, you usually don't have to carry magical items with you." Mamori explained as Doburoku continued to drive the bus towards the center of the field.

"You're a Ventish elf!" Ayla gasped, staring at Malhavoc. He responded by raising his eyebrows.

"Usually non-elves cannot differentiate between the individual races." Malhavoc commented.

"That's an amazing shield…." Juumonji muttered as he looked at the huge red light over their heads.

"It's not as amazing as that shield." Malhavoc pointed at Komusubi's tower shield. "That's the Door-Sealer."

"The legendary Door-Sealer!?" Ayla turned around and stared at the tower shield.

"Huh?" "Huuh?" "Huuh!?"

"The Door-Sealer!?" Doburoku gasped, managing to keep his eyes on the road ahead of them.

"What's it do?" Suzuna asked.

"It allows a non-magical person to open and close doors to the Underground." Malhavoc explained. "It can also be used to create impenetrable walls. And like any good, useful magical artifact it goes missing for several centuries then appears at the most convenient times."

"M-melfin?" Komusubi asked, wide-eyed.

"Of course it can be used to close the melfin." Malhavoc smiled, having understood Komusubi perfectly. "Just say 'Eilwran' as we start dropping."

"That's one of the Old Words!" Mamori gasped.

"And what of it?" Malhavoc asked her looking annoyed.

"All Underground magic is channeled through the Old Words, Mamori-chan." Doburoku remarked. "The Door-Sealer is an old, old magical artifact. Of course it's activated by the Old Words."

"Is rezrov one of the Old Words?" Musashi asked. "Zork used it to open a door earlier."

"…Yes." Malhavoc eyed the unconscious Incubus wearily.

"Are you okay?" Suzuna asked. Cerberus crawled out from under one of the seats and barked once at Malhavoc.

"Cerberus?" Malhavoc blinked at the dog, a little stunned.

"You know Hiruma's dog?" Kuroki was startled by this.

"Dog?" Malhavoc raised an eyebrow. "Familiar is a better word."

"Huh?" "Huuh?" "Huuh!?"

"You can tell!?" Yukimitsu gasped.

"Huh?" "Huuh?" "Huuh!?"

Malhavoc looked thoughtful while the bus began to fall.

"Eilwran!" Komusubi yelled.

And everything fell into darkness.

_=_=_=_=_

Komusubi had an important magical artifact the entire time and no one knew. Let me know what you think!


	28. Malhavoc of Vent, Elf of the Underground

Author's Note: The reviews made me particularly inspired, so here's another chapter.

The Story So Far: After a successful rescue of Hiruma, the group flees into the Underground with Malhavoc, the mysterious mass-murding elf.

Hidden

By: Bar-Ohki

Chapter 28: Malhavoc of Vent, Elf of the Underground

Malhavoc was the first one to wake. The bus had landed in the middle of an alien forest. The trees were evergreen and far too thin than Malhavoc was used to. Looking around, Malhavoc discovered they were sitting on a little island in an area that was covered with about 2-3 feet of water as far as his eyes could see (which was much further than a human could). There were sounds of birds and other small woodland creatures, though none of their calls were familiar to the old elf. It appeared as though there were some bridges built to connect the trees, either over the water or up in the canopy. There were some house-like buildings in the upper canopy on a few of the trees. There was no movement from these buildings, nor was there much sound other than the wood creaking slightly in the wind.

Quickly Malhavoc checked himself for injuries and magical abnormalities. He then methodically checked all of his equipment, making sure everything was in working order. He took out a telescope and looked up at the tree houses, double checking that they were indeed, abandoned. With a frown, Malhavoc deemed the area temporarily safe and began to check on the conditions of the others on the bus.

Hiruma was still running a fever and breathing very shallowly. His heart beat was slow and struggling. Feeling Hiruma's skin it proved to be clammy and the muscles spazismed slightly under Malhavoc's gentile touch. Malhavoc put one of his sensitive ears to Hiruma's chest, listening to the sounds of Hiruma's body. Finally, Malhavoc took a big whiff of Hiruma's scent and made his diagnosis: Hiruma was malnourished and seriously ill. Getting Hiruma to a healer would be a top priority, if surviving in this unfamiliar land wasn't also on the to-do menu. Malhavoc glared at nothing in his resulting frustration, having someone die on his watch because surviving was more important was not something he particularly enjoyed living with, though it had happened before.

With some renewed vigor, Malhavoc examined Sena. The runningback was simply exhausted and didn't seem to have the energy to be rising any time soon. This was a good thing because Sena would need food the moment he woke, something Malhavoc had a very limited amount of currently. A quick check of Zork proved the Incubus to also be exhausted, which didn't surprise Malhavoc considering that the boy had cast a spell that should have been beyond his current abilities.

"He's almost grown into his powers…." Malhavoc muttered thoughtfully as he looked at Zork. Providing food for Zork was going to be a little more difficult as Zork would be needing some kind of live animal to eat. Like all Incubus, Zork ate souls through a physical medium, like a hand or foot of some creature. Malhavoc decided to add 'hunting' to the to-do menu.

A quick scan of the rest of the people proved that they were all passed out from the exposure to the extreme magical energies that had occurred when the melfin closed. Malhavoc was sure, in hindsight, that collapsing his shield spell at the same time hadn't helped any of that chaos. Malhavoc also carefully examined all the items on each person and checked the contents of the cooler and the bone bag.

Indeed, the bone bag held elfin and Incubus bones. Malhavoc growled slightly, miffed that some kind of sick human had killed one of his kin to use as a seal. Malhavoc checked Cerberus last, knowing that familiars were generally extremely robust creatures, but large amounts of magic have been known to be their undoing. It appeared as though Cerberus was fine and would wake soon.

Malhavoc decided to examine the bus a little. All the windows and doors seemed to be intact. The bus was no longer making that rumbling and loud noise, for which Malhavoc was indefinitely grateful (it had been hurting his ears a little). He came upon a funny metal box with a strange red 'x' symbol on it. The contents of the box had things written in Upground English, a language Malhavoc could speak but not read. The contents was things he wasn't exactly sure what purpose they had, but the humans on board probably knew what to do with it.

A shiny lock caught Malhavoc's eye and the elf made short work of picking the lock. The secret compartment proved to have a few strange metal rods inside and a strange metal contraption with a crank. If Malhavoc turned the crank, the contraption would get taller and thinner. Turning the crank the other way proved to make the device shorter and fatter. There was also a red case inside the compartment. Opening the case showed that it had these orange and yellow sticks inside. Each stick was connected by a simple pin and taking it out and fiddling with it allowed Malhavoc to see that you could connect the sticks into a triangle.

Malhavoc deemed the object fairly useless for the moment.

Cerberus loudly stood up, his claws clacking loudly in the silence of the bus. He walked over to Malhavoc and sat down behind the elf, waiting for his attention.

"Is this 'plastic'?" Malhavoc asked holding up the triangle thing he had found in the compartment.

Cerberus gave him an affirmative bark.

"I admit that this is my first time holding plastic." Malhavoc held the triangle up, trying to see if it did anything cool in the light. "Disappointing really."

Cerberus shuffled noncommentally. Malhavoc took the triangle apart and put it, the metal rods, and the funny contraption back in the compartment. He quickly shut it and locked it. Malhavoc turned and looked at the bus door, which was closed. He walked over and tried pushing the door, it did not move.

"How does this door open?" Malhavoc muttered, giving the mechanism parts of the door a puzzled look.

Cerberus made an amused coughing noise.

"You have no place to be laughing," Malhavoc gave Cerberus a flat look, "as you cannot speak."

Cerberus let out a sigh.

"Can you smell anything hostile?" Malhavoc asked the familiar.

Cerberus gave the elf a negative bark.

"I can't hear or see anything more hostile than a bird or rodent." Malhavoc told Cerberus as he walked over and looked at the steering column. Malhavoc carefully touched all of the things on the dashboard, like a curious, innocent child. Cerberus jumped up beside Hiruma and began his own check of Hiruma's condition.

"We need to find a healer." Malhavoc commented. "This boy is very, very sick."

Cerberus nodded gravely.

"Any idea how I can leave this thing?" Malhavoc asked Cerberus. "I'd rather not break a window if I don't have to."

Cerberus snorted.

"Your sarcasm hasn't changed." Malhavoc observed. "I suppose I'll have to wait until someone wakes then." Elf perched himself on top of one of the seats, keeping a watchful eye over everything.

Mamori groaned loudly and began to stir in her seat. Malhavoc nimbly jumped down from his perch and stood before her. Mamori woke up, startled by the pericing gaze Malhavoc was giving her. Though he was physically very cute and unintimidating, his eyes were fierce and wild, reminding her not underestimate the elf.

"Hi?" Mamori muttered as she rubbed the last of the sleep out of her eyes.

"Open the door." Malhavoc ordered her, pointing at the bus door. Mamori was confused for only a short moment. Though bus doors were simple and common place were she came from, Malhavoc came from a land were plastic was this legendary substance that only crazy people believed in.

"How long have I been out?" Mamori asked as she walked down the isle, knowing better than to further annoy the elf.

"I do not know." Malhavoc answered her honestly. "But only a hand's while longer than myself."

" 'Hand's while'?" Mamori muttered, not familiar with that telling of time.

"A tiny bit of time, really." Malhavoc assured her. Mamori pressed the button that normally opened the door automatically. Nothing happened. After a pause and a frown from Malhavoc, Mamori pushed the two-part door at the center and watched the door fold open.

"There you go." Mamori gestured to the open door.

"Excluding Youichi, your companions are fine and in good health." Malhavoc informed her as he passed by her to lean out the open door.

"Hiruma!?" Mamori gasped. "What's wrong with him!?"

Malhavoc stopped looking at the muddy ground to turn around and give Mamori a 'are you really that stupid?' look. "His health hasn't improved since his rescue."

"Oh!" Mamori flushed, embarrassed that she had forgotten what kind of horrible state Hiruma was in. Malhavoc turned back to the ground, looking at it very intently.

"Umm… do you know why there was all that magic right before we passed out?" Mamori asked.

"A melfin is literally a bunch of stray magic that's been laying around rotting a hole between the Upground and Underground." Malhavoc reminded her. "It takes a lot of magic heal a hole created by a melfin. Between the melfin's magic, the Door-Sealer's magic, and the closing of my shield there was an extreme magical chaos."

"Which knocked everyone out." Mamori understood enough to know what the conclusion was. Malhavoc nodded and poked the ground.

"What are you doing?" Mamori couldn't help but to ask.

"Look out the windows." Malhavoc advised her. Mamori looked around the outside and saw the endless sea of trees and water.

"Oh my god…." Mamori muttered, running over to look out the open door. She now knew they were sitting on the only bit of dry land as far as her eyes could see.

"Where are we?" Doburoku muttered sleepily as he looked around from his place at the wheel.

"Ominous." Malhavoc muttered, his ears going flat.

"Ominous?" Mamori was confused.

"Malhavoc, do you recognize this place?" Doburoku was fully aware and now standing behind the elf. Malhavoc chose to say nothing as he stepped onto the ground.

"Cerberus and I don't sense anything hostile," Malhavoc began, "we are safe for now."

Doburoku didn't say anything as he looked around at the unfamiliar landscape. He looked up at the huts in the trees.

"Abandoned." Malhavoc informed Doburoku. "…I don't feel any sort of unpleasantness with the air here, whoever once lived here moved away slowly."

"That's a cold comfort." Doburoku remarked.

"How are we going to get out of here?" Mamori asked, eyeing the water.

Malhavoc responded by walking over to the nearest tree and setting his hands onto the large groves in the bark. After placing one of his small feet between one of the groves, Malhavoc hoisted himself up onto the tree and began climbing. Mamori noticed that the elf was wearing leather bags on his feet, rather than proper boots, which allowed the elf to get all sorts of good foot-grips as he gracefully scaled the tree.

"He's not seriously going to climb that?" Mamori asked, Malhavoc was a good 10 yards up the tree and his pace didn't seem to be slowing.

"I think he's going up to where the huts are," Doburoku pointed out wisely, "to try and figure out more about where we are I presume."

"It's that simple?" Mamori blinked. "I thought he would be doing something more complicated…."

"Malhavoc is a complicated fellow," Doburoku agreed, "but right now we're just trying to survive in an unfamiliar part of the Underground."

"Malhavoc doesn't know where we are!?" Mamori gasped.

"…If he did I don't think he'd be climbing that tree." Doburoku pointed out. "I'm sure he would have found a more normal way up."

"Normal?" A sleepy Yukimitsu asked as he walked over to where Mamori and Doburoku were talking.

Cerberus barked loudly and jumped out of the bus, having just now had a look outside.

Malhavoc was about 65 feet off the ground when he heard the barking. Carefully the elf turned and looked down at the barking dog. Yukimitsu rushed over and touched, Cerberus, trying to figure out what the dog was trying to say.

_**::**__That's an Succubus Roost! He needs to come down now!__**::**_ Cerberus told Yukimitsu firmly.

"It's a Succubus Roost!" Yukimitsu called loudly, scattering the birds and forest creatures, making an ill silence fall over the forest.

Malhavoc shivered unpleasantly, silent forests never spelled good news. He let go of the tree and began to fall, making the humans bellow gasp. As he fell, Malhavoc closed his eyes and muttered an Old Word, slowing his fall just before he hit the ground.

"What's going on?" Kurita had left the bus, Shin and Alya at his heels.

"Back in." Malhavoc pointed at the bus, his eyes deadly serious. "We're in a lot of danger."

"But Zork-!" Yukimitsu began to protest.

"Is an Incubus and holds no authority here. Having him unconscious with us doesn't put us in the greatest light. Not to mention how potentially angry they might be about Youichi." Malhavoc began ushering the others back onto the bus.

"We rescued Hiruma!" Kurita protested.

"Do they know that?" Malhavoc pointed out. "They might well assume that we're the ones that kidnapped him!"

A loud snapping of wings startled everyone. Malhavoc turned and saw a green-haired woman with purple bat-like wings glide down from one of the huts. She was was clothed in a blue wrap of some kind. She landed infront of them, staring at them with angered yellow eyes.

"Good day my fair Succubus." Malhavoc bowed deeply, standing in front of the others on the bus.

"You woke me." The Succubus hissed. "And for that you will be punished!"

_=_=_=_=_=_


	29. Cerberus, Familiar of Youichi

Author's Note: Nothing much to say.

The Story So Far: To escape the Elders of Northern Europe, the gang runs a bus through the melfin, landing it in a Succubus Roost in an unfamiliar part of the Underground. Yukimitsu, in his attempt to warn Malhavoc (who was innocently climbing a tree) to stay clear of the Succubus' huts, managed to wake, and piss off, the locals.

Hidden

By: Bar-Ohki

Chapter 29: Cerberus, Familiar of Youichi

No one saw Malhavoc's hand move, but he had reached down and pulled a small dagger out from somewhere on his person. Malhavoc's dagger looked like it was the top end of a fat sword that had been lopped off and put onto a simple hilt. The only thing extraordinary about the dagger was that about an inch and a half bellow the tip was a small, red jewel. Malhavoc held the small weapon out at arm's length between himself and the Succubus, who didn't seem to be affected by the gesture a bit.

"…Escarlaje!" Doburoku whispered, having recognized the dagger.

Without any warning Malhavoc dashed forward, his dagger still in front of him. The Succubus cackled a little and her yellow eyes lit up. Her cackling stopped when Malhavoc got within stabbing range, forcing her to dodge to the side. Again, using quick, subtitle movements, Malhavoc danced around the Succubus keeping the dagger pointed between them at all times.

"What the hell is that dagger?" Shin muttered, his eyes wide. The dagger looked like it was a magic sink-hole.

"It's the only weapon in existence that can cut any kind of magic in half." Doburoku muttered. "Most people considered it a legend- but to think that Malhavoc was in possession of such a weapon!"

"When did she get those in her side!?" Mamori gasped, pointing at the thin metal rods that were sticking out of the Succubus' side.

"Darts!" Doburoku recognized them. "They're probably poisoned too."

"Magically poisoned." Shin observed.

The Succubus shrieked, her hands clutching her wounded side. Malhavoc seemed completely unaffected by her agony. He rushed forward again, this time managing to nick her the with the dagger. The Succubus' movements were slowed and unsteady. She fell back against a tree trunk, panting.

"Yield." Malhavoc told her using the Old Words. The Succubus made a move to protest when Cerberus shot out of the bus and got between her and Malhavoc, growling all the while. Malhavoc was unmoved looking at the Succubus with a cold, piercing gaze.

"…Is he going to kill her?" Kurita asked, nervous.

"…If it comes to that, he will." Doburoku answered.

"I-I yield." The Succubus announced. Malhavoc didn't drop his dagger but he walked towards her. Cerberus got louder and louder.

"I'm retrieving my darts." Malhavoc told Cerberus, who promptly shut up. With a small crunch from the dirt, Malhavoc knelt in front of the Succubus. He grabbed one of the darts and pulled it out of her side in a quick, smooth motion. She gasped in pain. Malhavoc pulled the rest of the 14 darts he had stuck in her out, dropping each one onto the ground beside him. After Malhavoc finished pulling out the darts he pulled out a pouch and opened it in front of her.

"Antidote." Malhavoc told her. The Succubus eyed the pouch wearily and took a little bit of the black, dried plant. Malhavoc grabbed all of his darts up in one hand and backed away from the Succubus.

"Why's he keeping that dagger between them?" Yukimitsu asked.

"…It's protecting him from some sort of magic she's trying to cast on him." Shin explained.

"He's protecting his soul from being sucked out." Doburoku explained. Malhavoc sat down and began to carefully clean and hide the darts on his person, one-handed. There was no wasted movement as Malhavoc worked, a clear sign that he had a lot of experience doing that. The Succubus took the bit of antidote and rubbed it on her wounds. Shin observed that the magical interference that had been going on at the site of the wounds was now gone.

"You're the Havoc Weaker, aren't you?" The Succubus' accusation made Malhavoc jerk.

"…I am." Malhavoc admitted after a moment, having just finished cleaning the darts. "I will spare you the process of learning how I gained that name if you take a look at the unconscious boys on that machine."

"Threatening me?" The Succubus growled. Cerberus barked at her, making her stare at the dog.

"That is Cerberus of the Sun Mountain Roost, reborn as a dog familiar." Malhavoc told her flatly. "I think he's trying to tell you to help his grandsons."

The Succubus was awed slightly by this development. "Lotem's sons?"

"Who else?" Malhavoc rolled his eyes, his tone oozing sarcasm. "But only under one condition."

"Condition?" The Succubus eyed Malhavoc wearily.

"You don't consume the souls of their companions." Malhavoc answered simply. The Succubus didn't answer with words, she just marched on by Malhavoc and onto the bus. The awake members of the group shied away from her, their instincts screaming that they should run. The Succubus bent down and touched Hiruma's face with a frown. She shot one look at Zork and nodded.

Malhavoc bounded onto the bus with Cerberus, standing there expectantly. The Succubus noticed that he still had the dagger pointed at her.

"Paranoid?" The Succubus cocked her head at the elf's behavior.

"It's not called 'paranoia' when they really are out to get you." Malhavoc told her simply.

"…He cannot be helped here." The Succubus told Cerberus.

"Can he be moved to a place where he can have help?" Doburoku asked her.

"Yes." The Succubus walked off the bus and shot into the air, making strange noises all the while.

"What's she doing?" Kurita asked.

"Watch." Malhavoc answered simply.

The sound of several loud wing flaps filled the air. Within moments the bus was surrounded by Succubus, all with purple wings, all with green hair, all too beautiful.

"I am Emlyn of the Ven Forest, who is in charge of this lot?" One of the Succubus stepped forward, her clothes an emerald green. Her blue eyes made contact with everyone who was conscious on the bus.

"…I am." Doburoku announced.

"I am an entity to myself," Malhavoc informed her simply, "though currently I choose to travel with these humans."

"You're not with us?" Mamori blinked, not having expected that.

Malhavoc sighed loudly and rolled his eyes. "I _never_ was on your side."

"I have been told my nephews are here." Emlyn told Doburoku, her demand clear.

"They're over by Sena." Doburoku pointed at the sleeping runningback. Emlyn stepped onto the bus and walked down the isle and looked down on Zork and Hiruma. She said nothing for a moment then marched right off the bus. The Succubus outside took flight immediately, shaking the bus a bit violently when they stuck their clawed hands into its sides.

"Why are they moving the bus?" Shin asked as the bus slowly eased into the air.

"We were in the middle of their Sacred Ground I bet." Ayla pointed down at the circular island surrounded by the forest of trees.

"It's more convenient to move us this way." Malhavoc pointed out wisely as he knelt down by the open bus door and stuck his head out of it.

"That's dangerous!" Mamori warned Malhavoc.

"He knows." Doburoku reminded Mamori. "And he chooses to do that knowing that he might well get himself killed."

"Ha!" Malhavoc yelled in triumph.

"You know where we are?" Doburoku asked looking out at the unfamiliar landscape.

"See those mountains yonder?" Everyone was looking out at the window at the mountain range Malhavoc was pointing at. "That's the Cross Roads!"

"The Cross Roads?" Kurita asked.

"The Cross Roads are at the heart of the Underground, we measure everything from them." Malhavoc explained, looking rather pleased with himself. "It's no different than your North Pole in the Upground, right?"

"So we're close to the center of the Underground?" Kurita blinked.

"We're moving northeastward of them right now." Malhavoc commented as he stood up.

"You seem pleased." Shin observed, trying to figure out why Malhavoc was so happy. Malhavoc only smiled in response, pleased that he was no longer lost.

"Do you know where we might be headed?" Doburoku asked as the ground beneath them whizzed by.

"There," Malhavoc pointed out the bus' windshield at another, darker mountain range, "the Moon Mountains."

"Isn't the Moon Mountains a Succubus Roost?" Yukimitsu asked.

"It is." Malhavoc nodded. "But it's also Lotem's Roost and Youichi's birthplace, not that surprising when you think about it."

"Hiruma's birthplace?" Mamori blinked.

"Hiruma-kun was born in the Underground," Doburoku informed them. "His mother brought him to the Upground to be raised by Hiruma-san."

After a few nods the bus descended into silence as everyone watched the Moon Mountains draw closer. During the trip Hiruma opened his eyes, still disoriented and confused. Mamori walked over and put a gentile hand on Hiruma's face, trying to calm him. Hiruma knew something was happening, something important and in his current condition he could not grasp it. The last of the group members also woke up, including one tired, confused Sena. Mamori spent the rest of the trip explaining what had been happening.

The bus was set down on a large cliff on one of the mountain's faces. All the Succubus that had carried them pulled their hand free from the bus and turned back toward the forest they were from. Only Emlyn stayed behind. She stood at beside the open door of the bus and waited. Malhavoc crouched down and made himself small and unnoticeable as he looked out the door, waiting. Doburoku, after a while of no movement from Malhavoc, decided to step out of the bus and stand beside Emlyn.

From a small cave no more than three feet up the mountain side, Lotem hopped out, her curly long hair blowing in the slight breeze. She was again wearing a red dress and this time her purple wings were visible. She approached the party gracefully, her expression curious.

"Lotem-!" Musashi whispered, recognizing the woman.

"That's Hiruma's mother?" Monta pointed at the Succubus. Kurita and Musashi nodded.

"Elder Doburoku," Lotem began, "what brings you to my doorstep?"

"Your sons." Doburoku answered and turned to face the others on the bus. "Carry them out."

Kurita picked up Hiruma while Shin grabbed Zork, the four exited the bus along with everyone else. Lotem's eyes widened slightly and she ran over to get a better look at Hiruma. Though his eyes were open it was obvious he wasn't actually seeing anything. Lotem set her hand on Hiruma's forehead and the quarterback finally stilled his restless twitches. The unseeing eyes looked right at Lotem's face, as if there was some faint understanding of who she was.

"Emlyn, would you take Youichi to be healed?" Lotem asked Emlyn. The two Succubus shared several facial features, making it unquestionable that they were sisters. Emlyn took Hiruma from Kurita's arms and shot off into the air, flying somewhere else in the mountains.

"The rest of you must be tired from your journey." Lotem observed. "Please follow me to your rooms." Lotem snapped on her heel and strode back up to the cave entrance. Tiredly, the others followed her all exhausted for some reason or another. It turned out that there was a ladder carved into the side of the mountain, which allowed everyone to get into the cave. Though the interior still resembled a cave, it had been carved and painted to make the walls resemble some kind of great battle. Little blue orbs of light appeared in various crannies to cast a soft, gentile light over everything.

Lotem continued to walk down the hall, her feet making almost no noise against the cave floor. The group walked in silence, most were absorbed in the stories carved into the walls. Lotem stopped before a large black curtain that covered one side of the wall. She pulled back the curtain to reveal a room with several alcoves. In each alcove was a large pile of pillow and a curtain to pull back for privacy. There were some chests in the center of the room, presumably to store things in.

"For your own safety, I urge that all of you stay in here for now." Lotem informed them. "I will have food sent down shortly."

"I'll take those." Malhavoc took the bone bag off Zork's back and hoisted it over his shoulder.

"What are you doing?" Doburoku demanded.

"Taking these to someone who can free their spirits." Malhavoc answered as he stepped out into the hall beside Lotem.

"Wait, you're leaving?" Sena protested.

Malhavoc nodded. "Till the next dawning, parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme." The elf stepped back again then walked down the hall out of sight.

"Do not worry about him, he has duties to attend to." Lotem assured the group. She looked at Rae and the bus lady, who were twitching neverously.

"Are those two with your group?" Lotem asked, pointing at the busy lady and Rae.

"Not really, they have to be returned to Liverpool." Doburoku answered truthfully.

"I will take care of them then." Lotem nodded and called the woman over.

"What about the bus?" The bus lady asked.

"It will be taken care of." Lotem assured the lady. Cerberus walked over and nodded to Lotem once and walked off down the hall. Lotem and the woman then took their leave, leaving the rest of the group to sit there in silence.

"What now?" Mamori asked no one in particular.

Cerberus navigated the Roost with else, having been here many a time in life. The Succubus left him alone, occationally shooting him a strange look. Within a short while Cerberus had reached the heart of Moon Mountain, the Room of Moon. All Succubus and Incubus were born in this room, most die in that room as well. Hiruma was naked on the very bed he had been born on. The blue crystal ceiling was pulsing in the moonlight, casting a genitle glow on everything in the room.

Carefully Cerberus climbed onto the bed and laid down beside the sleeping Hiruma. The fever was gone and his pulse had come up. Hopefully being ill had not done any perminate damage to Hiruma.

"Father…." Emlyn muttered as she came into the room. Cerberus nodded in acknowledgement.

"I feel like Lotem did the wrong thing." Emlyn remarked as she brushed a stray strand of hair from Hiruma's face. "Leaving Youichi with Yuuya."

"She did not." Cerberus muttered, his voice sounding almost like barks. "Those friends are the most valuble thing he could ever have."

Emlyn nodded and gave Hiruma a small kiss on the forehead.

"Who should I have here when he wakes?" Emlyn asked.

"You should be here, or better yet Lotem." Cerberus answered. "Youichi doesn't know what I am yet."

"Very well then." Emlyn nodded and left the room.

_=_=_=_=_

Long chapter, lots of words, lots of things happened. Tell me what you think!


	30. Yuuya, Elder of the Eastern Ocean Isle

Author's Note: I'm on chapter 30! Wow! This story is now 142 pages long, which means my spell check (for some reason) won't put red squiggles under wrongly spelled words. I'm sorry about the increase in spelling mistakes from here on out, if the computer won't display them, I probably won't catch them.

The Story So Far: Hiruma has been rescued and is now receiving some medical care from his mother the other Succubus. The others are in some room, waiting for food and guidance.

Hidden

By: Bar-Ohki

Chapter 30: Hiruma Yuuya, Elder of the Eastern Ocean Isles

Hiruma Yuuya was standing before several distressed parents. The Anezaki family was not amused that their daughter disappeared. Kobayakawa Mihae was panicking because her son hadn't said anything when he left with his football uniform, she had just assumed he had gone to practice. Yukimitsu Rin, Yukimitsu Manabu's mother, was under the impression that her son had been kidnapped. Shin Toshio, Shin Seijuro's father, was 'kindly' wondering where the hell his son went. The worst bay far was the look on the face of Kurita Kiyoshi; it was a very disappointed look.

"I don't know where your children disappeared to!" Hiruma snapped for the seventh time. "All we can tell at this point it that Sensitive Kobayakawa Sena somehow managed to walk the lot of them somewhere else!"

"Then he should have been within seven leagues of Tokyo!" Mihae protested.

"We've checked that, your son took several steps." Hiruma rubbed his temples. "They are not in Japan anymore."

"Where are they then!?" Yukimitsu demanded. "They've been missing for two days!"

"I said I don't-!" Hiruma was cut off by the opening of a door.

"Elder Hiruma of the Eastern Ocean Isles," the woman spoke with an English accent, "would you kindly explain this?" The woman was wearing a green dress. She had long red hair and blue eyes. In her hand was a photograph of a bunch of boys wearing football uniforms on a bus that was violently turning around a corner. Of course they were Devil Bat uniforms.

"Elder O'Neil of Northern Europe," Hiruma's eyes narrowed, "perhaps you should explain the Hunters that have been seen around Tokyo recently?"

"Our headquarters was destroyed by these children!" O'Neil shoved the picture in Hiruma's face. "And every one of them was Japanese!"

"Explain where our national treasure went!" Hiruma countered. "It's also missing!"

"Perhaps I can offer my services as a well-informed person." A short, black cloaked figure in the corner of the room announced with a bow.

"What the hell?!" Hiruma gasped, startled by the sudden appearance of the figure.

"I don't think 'hell' is exactly the word you seek, Elder sir." Malhavoc pulled back his hood to reveal his pale, childish face, "Personally, I will recommend 'Underground'."

"Who are you?" Kurita asked, curious more than anything else.

"A very well-informed person." Malhavoc answered. "Now I'm sure everyone here would like to hear the information, but its not going to be free."

"What do you mean?" O'Neil demanded.

"A trade." Shin muttered. "If he's from the Underground, he wants to trade."

"Yes, I do wish to trade." Malhavoc nodded. "And like any good trader I will now disclose to you some of the many things I know but presume that you might care about knowing about."

"Something we want?" Mihae eyed the elf wearily. She had heard horror stories about the kinds of things that were traded in the Underground for information.

"I could explain both the Hunters' presence in Tokyo. I could also explain and identify the people in the Lady Elder's picture." Malhavoc explained. "I also know where all of the missing things currently are, including your son, Lord Elder."

"You know where Manabu is!?" Yukimitsu gasped.

"What do you want?" Shin demanded.

"Which of those things do you want to know?" Malhavoc cocked his head. "They all have different values, you know."

"Where are our children?" Anezaki, the man, asked.

"For that I must first hear the name of the missing person or thing, and you must tell me why whatever thing or person is significant to you." Malhavoc laid down a fairly reasonable price.

"Anezaki Mamori," Anezaki, the female, began, "she's my only child."

"Anezaki Mamori is at the Moon Mountain Roost under the protection and permission of Lady Lotem." Malhavoc informed her.

"…Shin Seijuro," Shin announced, "he's my son."

"Shin Seijuro is also at the Moon Mountain Roost." Malhavoc informed the man. "Don't worry sir, Lady Lotem is also looking after your son."

"I am wondering about the fate of my son and his friends. In exchange I have a piece of information you might find useful yourself, Lord Elf." Kurita offered.

"…What would be the nature of this information?" Malhavoc asked.

"Portals to the Underground." Kurita answered. Hiruma gave him an uncomfortable look.

"I accept your trade." Malhavoc nodded.

"There were two melfins created recently. One is on the field of Deimon High School and the other is outside of Liverpool, I believe." Kurita explained.

"Ah, that is useful to know." Malhavoc nodded. "Your son and his friends are all at Moon Mountain Roost, under Lady Lotem's care."

"Do you know of the fate of the half-Succubus?" O'Neil asked.

"Perhaps, what do you have to offer for it?" Malhavoc asked her.

"I know your real name." O'Neil smirked. Malhavoc raised an eyebrow.

"Tell me it quietly to my ear then." Malhavoc told her, his tone leaving no room for argument. O'Neil decided to humor him and whisper his full name into his ear.

"Hiruma Youichi is alive and recovering from the damage your people did to him." Malhavoc answered.

"Your people!?" Hiruma gasped, angry.

"Now, Lord Elder, Lady Elder, I will explain what exactly has transpired if you answer me this:" Malhavoc took a breath, "who is the envoy to the Underground?"

"…Elder Doburoku of the Eastern Ocean Isles." O'Neil answered.

"…Yes." Hiruma agreed quickly.

"Curious that is." Malhavoc chuckled. "Very well, here is the information you seek…." And with that Malhavoc broke off into a long recount about the war between Northern and Southern Europe, the decision to capture Youichi, the capture, the abuse of his blood and magic eating, and then his rescue.

"And the Ladies of Ven kindly flew the lot of us to Moon Mountain, where they still remain to this hour." Malhavoc finished.

"You're here?" Lotem blinked as she walked into the room, Rae and the bus lady right behind her.

"Should I not be?" Malhavoc asked her back.

"I suppose you have a reason for it." Lotem shook her head. "Yuuya, deal with these poor ladies kindly. They've had a rough time at the expense of your son."

"You're just dumping them on me!?" Hiruma protested.

"It's not my place to alter their memory!" Lotem snapped back, showing a lot of fangs. "I'm not impressed with the treatment of the Elders whose district these girls belong to, so I'm going to leave them with you."

"And what issues do you have with Northern Europe?" O'Neil demanded hotly. Lotem moved so quickly, no one could actually follow her movement. It was as though she had instantly smashed O'Neil into the wall and held her up by her heck.

"You killed my mate and nearly killed me son." Lotem told the woman with a sadistic smile. "Do you have any issues with that?"

"None." O'Neil managed to choke out. Lotem dropped the woman like a rag doll.

"And I expect you to do something about that." Lotem waved a hand in the general direction of O'Neil. "Since I now have to take care of our son."

"What!?" Hiruma protested.

"He grew into his powers with no schooling!" Lotem hissed. "He grew up completely ignorant of his heritage and your careless protection nearly got him killed! I see no reason this arrangement should continue!"

"And would you risk stripe him of his friends?" Malhavoc asked Lotem wisely. "I can't say that I know many that would have gone through such lengths to rescue your son."

Hiruma and Lotem stared at Malhavoc.

"Who's side are you on?" Shin couldn't help but to ask.

"My own!" Malhavoc announced. "And at the same time, Youichi only knows the Upground, he has a place here. It would be unfair to keep him from it without his consent. Now, I admit that his powers do need schooling immediately, for the sake of the others around him. Perhaps a Succubus could stay in the Upground with him to protect and tutor him until he wishes to return to the Underground."

"You're telling me to reason with her?" Hiruma demanded.

"Actually I am suggesting that she have more patience when dealing with you." Malhavoc rolled his eyes. "Now I am going to take my leave of the lot of you."

"And where would you be going?" Lotem asked.

"To deal with the melfin." Malhavoc answered. "Until the next fall, tansy, tarragon, dill, chamomile."

"What!?" Lotem gasped, but Malhavoc had already disappeared.

"What did he say?" Rae asked, freaking out.

"Don't you know your herbs!?" Lotem stared at the girl. "Tansy is hostility, tarragon is permanence, dill is survival, and chamomile is wisdom…."

"Something horrible's coming this way?" O'Neil gasped.

"It's here." A new voice announced. "Oh is it here."

They turned to see the siloutte of a large man with a big staff.

"Blake!" Hiruma and O'Neil hissed, recognizing the man.

"That elf won't escape my men." Blake assured them. "So how's about a game, hmm?"

**-At Moon Mountain-**

Hiruma Youichi woke up.

_=_=_=_=_

Cliffie! Ha!


	31. Emlyn of Ven Succubus of the Underground

Author's Note: We're starting to close in on the end of the story here, as a warning. I'm on spring break now, hopefully updates should come quicker.

The Story So Far: Hiruma Yuuya and a few others are now in trouble. Hiruma Youichi is recovering from the illness the Elders gave him while the rest of his companions wait for food.

Hidden

By: Bar-Ohki

Chapter 31: Emlyn of Ven Forest, Succubus of the Underground

Hiruma opened his eyes and stared at the blue-tinted sky. It took him a moment to realize he was looking up at the full moon and night sky through some sort of large, blue crystal. Somehow this idea didn't scare him, in fact part of him was extremely comforted by the site and the entire thing was insanely familiar. He felt tired and groggy, like he had over slept. Sitting up revealed that he was sitting in a bed fashioned out of stone and cushions. Over him someone had thrown a dark blue silk quilt that had crystal beadwork that made a night sky-like design. Hiruma was not amused to see that he was naked underneath the quilt.

"Well risen." A female voice from his left commented. Hiruma turned to see a green haired woman with blue eyes. Her facial features were not unlike his own, it made him wonder if he was related.

"Wings!" Hiruma gasped, seeing the purple, bat-like wings for the first time.

"All grown Succubus and Incubus have wings." The Succubus told him with a small chuckle. "We can hide them at will of course."

"Who are you?" Hiruma asked. "Where am I?" The questions weren't worried, just curious.

"I'm Emlyn of Ven Forest." Emlyn introduced herself. "Your aunt."

"Ah." Hiruma nodded slowly, it wasn't too strange that he had relatives he didn't know about on his real mother's side.

"You are in the Room of Moon, the Sacred Place of the Moon Mountain Roost." Emlyn answered him simply.

"…I've been here before." Hiruma commented as he looked around at the insanely familiar cave walls.

"You were born on that bed." Emlyn told him. Hiruma jerked, staring at the bed in awe.

"…How did I get here?" Hiruma asked after another moment, this time there was confusion in his voice.

"I don't know the exact details but I can tell you what I do know." Emlyn launched into a short tale of how Hiruma had been kidnapped, abused, then rescued.

"I heard that your friends drove one of the Upground machines into the melfin and shut it behind him to escape their pursuers." Emlyn finished.

"You said some friends of mine rescued me," Hiruma began, "where are they?"

"In one of the guest rooms, eating by now I presume." Emlyn answered. "We'll allow you to join them once you are done recovering."

"…I'm not better?" Hiruma raised an eyebrow.

"If I can count your ribs, you are not better." Emlyn answered pointing at Hiruma's starved looking body. For the first time since he woke up, Hiruma realized just how bad a condition he was in.

"What the hell?" Hiruma muttered, staring at the horrible state of his body.

"You'll be fine again by tomorrow morning." Emlyn assured Hiruma, handing him a plate of fruit. Hiruma examined the fruit, none of it was anything he was familiar with, but it didn't smell unpleasant and his stomach was rumbling.

"…Where's my mother?" Hiruma asked after munching on a piece of the tasty fruit.

"She went to the Upground to take care of some ladies that had accidentally gotten caught up in your rescue. She should be back tomorrow morning." Emlyn answered.

"What's in that green box?" Hiruma pointed at a green box that was on the table beside him.

"I'm not sure," Emlyn answered, "your mother had it brought up here before she left. You shouldn't open it without her permission."

"Okay." Hiruma munched down another piece of fruit. "I have one last question, do I have any other important Succubus relatives that I should be aware of?"

"Not Succubus relatives." Emlyn answered quickly. "You have full-blooded Incubus half-brother named Zork…. And your Grandfather was reborn as a familiar."

"I have a brother?" Hiruma blinked, he hadn't considered the possibility of siblings.

"Zork's with your friends right now." Emlyn explained. "He's probably taking good care of them."

"What the hell is a familiar?"

**-With Zork and the others-**

Indeed food had arrived some time ago. Food had come in the form of unfamiliar fruits and vegetables that Doburoku had assured everyone were edible and good for you. Zork had been presented with a cage full of live rats. The Incubus had taken out one of the rats, bit its tail off and turned the thing into a breathing, unmoving ball of flesh. Zork then snapped its neck, killing it. This was an act of mercy, as he had just eaten the soul out of the thing and it no longer had any point in living. This process was repeated until Zork ran out of rats. Everyone found the process somewhat disturbing, but said nothing.

"I wonder where Cerberus went." Yukimitsu muttered, looking out at the door to their niche.

"Grandpa? He probably has business to be done." Zork commented after a while.

"…What do you suppose Malhavoc meant?" Musashi asked after a minute. "I mean he said some herbs right before he left."

"Herbs have several meanings," Doburoku began, "it is traditional amongst elves to leave and give those around you a bit of cryptic advice in the form of four herbs."

"He gave us advice?" Kuroki was weary.

"I don't know the meanings of herbs," Shin began, "but I think it would be important to know what Malhavoc had to tell us."

"Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme." Mamori recounted the four herbs.

"Parsley is means to ease bitterness," Yukimitsu recalled, "and sage was wisdom or strength, I can't remember. I think thyme means courage, and uhh… rosemary is love."

"The adage!" Doburoku gasped. "Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme! It's an elfin adage!"

"An adage?" Suzuna blinked.

"Ease the bitterness you give your enemy, instead have strength and faith in your own ability. Remember who you are, and have courage in the face of what is yet to pass." Doburoku recited. "It's what an elf means when they say 'parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme' in that order."

"That is cryptic advice." Togano observed.

"Well he also wished to see us next rising," Doburoku pointed out, "which means he wishes to see us under happier, newer circumstances."

"What would the alternative been?" Ishimaru asked.

"Well the worse he could have said was to see us the next falling, that means something on the lines of 'I'd like to see you again, but you probably won't live to see our next encounter'." Doburoku pointed out. "Elves are a very complicated people."

"They don't seem to make themselves easily understood by people of other cultures." Suzuna observed with a frown.

"They live a long, long time and tend to get fairly set in their ways." Doburoku reminded them. "You can actually learn a lot from an elf you study their culture a small bit. They tend to be a lot more accommodating if you try and learn the ways of their people."

"Ah, but what do you think he meant by that advice?" Kurita asked.

"Probably to stick by the adage." Mamori guessed. "He strikes me as the kind of guy that doesn't do things unintentionally."

"He's not." Doburoku nodded.

"How could he possibly be old? He was a kid!" Taki protested.

"He may look like a kid, that does not mean he was one." Juumonji reminded the idiot. "Haven't you ever heard of a wolf in sheep's clothes?"

"Can't say I have," a male voice from the direction of the door commented, "but then again, I haven't heard the word 'sheep' before either." The voiced belonged to a tall, fair looking man with tanned skin, orange eyes with red pupils, pointed ears, and long, curly brown hair. He was wearing grey robes with a large hand bell tied around his waist. In one hand was a long staff with a small, green crystal at the top.

"Zeke!" Doburoku gasped, recognizing the new comer immediately.

"Good day, Elder Doburoku." Zeke bowed slightly.

"Who's he?" Musashi asked the trainer.

"Zeke-Mancer?" Zork gasped.

"The same." Zeke nodded his head with a smile. "You've grown a great deal since I last saw you, young Zork."

"He's a Necromancer." Doburoku explained. "A good one."

"Necro-what?" Yukimitsu didn't understand.

"You can raise the dead!?" Sena squeaked, clearly intimidated by that thought.

"I specialize in the magic of the spirits and presences of the dead that have yet to move on." Zeke corrected. "Though I can create and raise zombies, I do not practice that on a regular basis."

"Z-zombies!?" Monta gasped. "Freaky Max!"

"He's not a bad guy!" Zork protested. "Zeke's my family's Mancer!"

"Mancer?" Shin blinked, not familiar with the term.

"Incubus and Succubus don't have healing magics, they need someone like who specializes in magics like I do to heal them." Zeke explained. "It steams from their soul-eating. They ally themselves with people like me to be their family caretakers if you will."

"He gave me a blessing when I was born." Zork explained.

"I gave you and your brother two blessings." Zeke corrected Zork quickly. "But that is in the past and we live in the present. Could someone tell me where the chest full of Youichi's blood went?"

"Why do you want his blood?" Ayla demanded from her perch atop the cooler.

"I was going to use it to create a familiar." Zeke answered.

"That blood eats magic," Shin warned Zeke, "what kind of familiar are you trying to create!?"

"One that won't have its magic eaten by Youichi." Zeke answered. "It would belong to Zork and it has to have magical abilities unlike Youichi's familiar, so I'm stuck having to make it share blood with the man. When I heard that there was a pile of his blood laying around unused I thought I would try to see if I could get a hold of some of it, since that would work best."

"You're making me a familiar!?" Zork was awed. "One with magic!?"

"It was the request of the spirit," Zeke explained, "and I do not deny spirits requests if I can help it."

"Do you have consent to use the blood?" Doburoku asked.

"Ah." Zeke nodded. "You are a wiser man than me, I almost forgot the most important part."

"Who's the spirit!?" Zork asked, excited.

"You'll know later." Zeke assured the young Incubus. "I suppose I ought to wait here then."

"You're going to stay here?" Sena sounded nervous.

"I don't really want to wander amongst Succubus if I can help it, they kind of want to eat my soul." Zeke pointed out. "If it is a comfort to you, I have no intention of using any magic."

"How can we trust you?" Musashi asked.

"Because no one can use magic in this room." Zeke answered.

Mamori checked. "He's right."

"Oh."

**-One very uneasy sleep later-**

Hiruma woke up again, this time he was alone in the Room of Moon. Emlyn had left him some clothes and food. Hiruma quickly changed into the black pants, dark blue peasant shirt, and dark red tunic. There was a black leather belt that Hiruma quickly buckled around his waist. Remarkably, everything fit him properly.

"Awake now?" The barking-like voice of Cerberus asked. Hiruma turned and looked at his dog for the first time since he learned its true nature. Cerberus was the sprit of his Grandfather reborn in the form of a magicless dog. When in the presence of only those with Succubus or Incubus blood, could Cerberus talk in a heavily accented voice.

Hiruma simply nodded once. Part of him wondered why the hell his Grandfather had been running around acting like an uncontrolled, wild animal this entire time.

"Grab that box." Cerberus instructed, pointing his nose at the green box from earlier. Hiruma walked over and grabbed the box. It was fairly light and didn't make any noise when he shook it lightly.

"This way." Cerberus told him and began leading Youichi through the Roost. There were lots of hall ways, each weaving around in a complex, maze-like fashion. Periodically the hallways opened into large rooms that had holes all up and down the walls, where Succubus would fly from hole to hole. All of the Succubus that noticed him would stop whatever they were doing and bow their heads in respect.

It made Hiruma really self-conscious and uncomfortable. He only walked quickly, not really understanding their behavior.

"Youichi!" Emlyn called from behind him after he and Cerberus had just finished crossing one of the large rooms. Hiruma stopped and turned to his aunt, not really sure what to say to her after the conversation they had had yesterday. She had explained everything to him, about the Underground, the Upground, and about why his mother had sent him to live with his father.

When Hiruma had been born, he had gotten pretty sick off of his mother's breast milk. Quickly they realized that whatever Hiruma needed special in his diet, it wasn't coming from his mother. After a bit of trial and error they discovered he needed human food in edition to magic to survive. Unfortunately he could not eat the magic of the Succubus, so he would not survive long if he stayed among them. Lotem had chosen to follow the tradition amongst the Succubus and Incubus and take Hiruma to live with his father in the Upground. Yuuya, who hadn't even known that Lotem had been pregnant, wasn't terribly thrilled with the idea of a baby half Succubus being dumped into his care.

At the time Hiruma had heard all the news, he'd been in this state of calm. Now that he was away from the Room of Moon, Hiruma's emotions were his own again and right now, he had some very mixed feelings about his aunt.

"Emlyn?" Cerberus stopped, a little confused that she should show up.

"I just got some terrible news." Emlyn explained quickly. "…I think it will be best if we discus it before your friends."

"Why?" Hiruma asked her wearily.

"Because Zork needs to hear it too." Emlyn answered. Hiruma's stomach filled with nervous butterflies, he was about to meet the little brother he had always dreamed of having.

"Hurry." Cerberus suggested and broke off at a run. Without much thought, Hiruma chased after the dog, easily keeping pace with it. Emlyn flew behind the two.

"Why the heck is everyone bowing!?" Hiruma hissed under his breath as they dashed through another room full of bowing Succubus.

"Lotem is our Queen." Emlyn answered.

Hiruma almost stopped in shock. His mother was Succubus royalty!? What a great complication this added to his life. Cerberus made a sharp left and darted under a large curtain. Hiruma had to stop for a moment and pull back the heavy curtain slowly.

On the other side of the curtain was all of the Devil Bats, sitting around a plate of food that Cerberus had selfishly attacked. Shin Seijuro was there too, wearing one of Juumonji's away uniforms. Doburoku was there with one of Monta's away uniforms thrown over his normal clothes.

Then there was a black haired, pointy eared boy wearing one of Sena's away uniforms over a white tunic with purple pants. That boy turned and looked away from the small cage in front of him to meet Hiruma's eyes. Hiruma might have been a little more pleased to see his infamous younger brother if the boy didn't have a wiggling, squeaking, live rat hanging out of his mouth.

"Finish your fucking meal." Hiruma snapped at his brother, who just continued to stare for a minute. Upon realizing there was still a rat in his mouth, Zork quickly finished eating the soul out of the thing and killing it off.

"Hiruma!" The rest of the humans cried, leaping to their feet. Mamori was the first one there, throwing her arms around him in a relieved hug.

"Tch." Hiruma muttered, not terribly keen on the physical affection, but he tolerated it.

"Youichi?" Zork asked in a small voice, having managed to walk around the side of the excited humans to get a good look at his older brother.

"Heya brat." Hiruma reached out and ruffled Zork's hair, pleasing the little Incubus greatly.

"You seem well." Zeke commented, dragging the attention back to him. He was currently sitting on the floor, next to Ayla who was sitting on the cooler.

"What the fuck are you?" Hiruma demanded.

"An elf." Zeke answered. "And your family's personal Mancer."

"Lord Zeke?" Emlyn gasped as she walked in. "I thought you left after you released Dalboz's spirit!"

"I have a familiar to make." Zeke answered simply. "But judging by your appearance, you have something far more interesting to tell the lot of us."

"…Blake of Saintix is free." Emlyn explained. "And he's captured Lotem."

"What!?" Zork protested.

"The hell?" Zeke muttered, paleing dramatically at the thought.

"Blake is free!?" Doburoku seemed the most perturbed by this.

"Oh God no…." Ayla muttered, completely horrified by the thought.

"Who the hell is this Blake guy?"

_=_=_=_=_

And I leave you there.


	32. Akumetsu

Author's Note: I got ahead of myself earlier and wrote and finished this before I even posted chapter 31.

The Story So Far: Hiruma's awake, he's had some explanations, and he's back with the others. Now some dude named Blake (who's bad news) has taken Lotem.

Hidden

By: Bar-Ohki

Chapter 32: Akumetsu

"…Blake is a half-elf, half-Incubus Necromancer." Zeke explained after a moment. "He is extremely powerful and evil."

"Blake had enslaved almost all of the Underground with his magic." Zork added, looking shaken.

"It took all of the Elders, Lord Zeke, the Dungeon Master, and 30 other highly powerful Mages to seal him away." Doburoku explained. "…We sealed him under in Mount Fuji."

"…The Underground is still recovering from the wounds he gave it so wantonly." Zeke admitted. "Blake uses spells that even the most morally corrupt Necromancers wouldn't dare touch."

"And he escaped and has my mother." Hiruma commented, sounding unamused.

"We need to save mom!" Zork announced.

"Yes, but how do you propose we go about doing that?" Doburoku asked. "Blake was sealed away 300 years ago, Zeke's the only one currently living of the original sealers."

"…I have an idea." Zeke admitted slowly after a few moments. "But I'm going to need your consent for something, Youichi."

"My consent?" Hiruma eyed the elf wearily, not trusting the creature one bit.

"I would like to use your blood to create a familiar." Zeke explained.

"I have no intention of bleeding right now." Hiruma gave Zeke a disgusted look.

"Actually the Elders of Northern Europe took a lot of blood from you while they had you captive." Ayla explained. "It's in this cooler here."

Hiruma hadn't been expecting that.

"The familiar would be for Zork and would be a very useful thing to have around when we deal with Blake." Zeke assured everyone.

"Who is the spirit?" Hiruma demanded, knowing that familiars needed spirits.

"Dungeon Master Dalboz." Zeke answered. "Zork's father and Master."

"…Fine." Hiruma gave Zeke permission. Zeke glanced at Ayla who got off the cooler.

"Oh you have it!" Zeke saw the green box for the first time. "That will be a great help!"

"You know what is in that box?" Emlyn was mildly surprised.

"I'm the one that put that box together." Zeke sounded offended. "Of course I know what is inside."

"…What is inside?" Shin asked. The box seemed normal.

"Akumetsu." Zeke answered with a grin. "An artifact."

"An artifact!?" Sena gasped, awed.

"I haven't heard of this artifact!" Emlyn protested.

"That's because it's only 15 years old." Zeke answered. "It hasn't been touched by anyone other than its maker."

"…And why is it in a green box?" Hiruma held the box up.

"Because it was forged for you." Zeke answered simply. "And you are its first wielder."

"You can make artifacts specifically for people?" Mamori gasped.

"They always are made specifically for people when they are initially made." Zeke remarked.

Hiruma snorted and opened the box, making Emlyn somewhat upset. Inside the box, wrapped in white silk, was a black hand gun. It was different from a normal gun in the sense that it didn't seem to have a place to put in bullets, but it did have a safety and all the proper mechanisms of a gun. Hiruma picked it up and held it in his hand. Perfect fit, perfect weight, perfect balance, no doubt that it had been made for him.

"Hm." Hiruma set the box down and proceeded to examine the gun a little more thoroughly. It was a completely normal gun except that it didn't have a place to put in bullets.

"How the fuck do you load this thing?" Hiruma demanded.

"You don't." Zeke answered. "I don't know all of what it does exactly, you never can with a proper artifact, but I know that it doesn't need anything other than a master."

"Where are you going?" Emlyn demanded, having noticed that Zeke was about to leave.

"I have to make a familiar and I can't do it in a room that allows no magic." Zeke answered. "Though I will strongly recommend that the lot of you get yourselves to the Upground and figure out what happened."

"Doesn't sound like a bad idea," Doburoku agreed. "Is there an Underground Underground station around here?"

"Yes." Zork answered.

"I'll catch up with you as soon as I can," Zeke promised, "just please do not confront Blake without me."

Hiruma simply stared at the gun in his hand, his life had just gotten pretty damn weird.

"Oh and Youichi," Zeke added right before he left, "you might want to practice with that before you try it in battle."

Hiruma aimed at the far wall, turned the safety off, and pulled the trigger. He felt a pull on his energy and a silent little gust of air came out of the end of the gun. A small portion of time later the wall exploded violently and the debris fell forward a little, then sucked back into the middle of the explosion. Soon the debris had compiled and shrunk down into a small, smooth, black stone.

Zeke paled at the sight of that.

"Hm." Hiruma commented, not having expected it to do that. Shin looked like he had scene a ghost.

"What did you see?" Juumonji asked Shin.

"…That bullet just sucked all the magic out of the rock and pulled it into that stone." Shin pointed at the black stone.

"It made a Medium?" Sena blinked. Kurita walked over and picked up the stone.

"Yeah, it did." Kurita agreed.

"…That's somewhat impractical." Hiruma observed.

"What if you shot that at a Mage?" Ayla pointed out, startling everyone. "If it didn't kill them, it would definitely remove them of their powers."

"Assuming it stuck in them and didn't go through." Hiruma pointed out. He put the safety back on.

"Are you okay Lord Zeke?" Emlyn asked.

"I'll be okay." Zeke assured her. "I'm just a little stunned is all."

"You're stunned?" Zork asked.

"…I'm the one that forged that artifact." Zeke admitted after a while.

"Then you should know how it works." Hiruma frowned.

"No, I went into a trance when I forged it, I don't actually have any memory of creating the weapon." Zeke shook his head. "Artifacts possess a smith and make themselves be made. The smith never remembers making it, they just know who it is for when they are done."

"I've heard that was the case." Doburoku commented. "But I don't recall you having any smithing skills."

"I don't." Zeke commented. "But found myself up in a dwarven village, with a kind of weapon I had never seen before in my life sitting in my hands. The locals told me I had been possessed by their smithing god."

"You've never seen a gun before?" Kuroki asked.

"Is that what it's called?" Zeke asked back. "I don't even really know how to use it as a weapon, I just know it doesn't need anything but a master to work."

"They don't have guns in the Underground, typically." Doburoku explained.

"Hmm." Hiruma looked at the gun again. "Let's get the hell out of here."

"Hiruma?"

"I don't think my aunt wants me putting any more fucking craters in the walls." Hiruma glanced at the giant hole he had made.

Everyone nodded.

"I'll take them to the station." Zork assured his aunt.

"…Be careful." Emlyn wished them as the group journeyed out into the halls of the Roost.

To Hiruma's relief the station was not only close by, but there were no Succubus in between them and it. Zork called the train to take them to the Deimon JR Station. Hiruma learned about exactly what had transpired since his kidnapping and how the group had rescued him.

"So who are you exactly?" Hiruma asked Ayla.

"…I'm a Sensitive in charge of caring for the magical creatures they kept imprisoned." Ayla explained.

"You're a Sensitive?" Yukimitsu blinked.

"Its minor, I can kind of read the minds of those I touch if I concentrate really hard." Ayla explained. "I can't understand the thoughts of non-human things very well."

Hiruma pointed Akumetsu at her. "So you've read my mind?"

"Enough to know that you were a person with a life." Ayla explained, very intimidated by the weapon. "And that it wasn't right to have you trapped like that!"

Hiruma lowered his gun.

"Either way we have to keep her with us," Doburoku told Hiruma, "if she went back now she'd probably be executed as a traitor."

The train came screeching to a stop.

**"Name and purpose."** The train demanded again.

"Here we go again…." Togano muttered.

_=_=_=_=_

I like Akumetsu, don't you?


	33. Shin Seijuro, Aura Seer

Author's Note: New term has started up. Yay.

The Story So Far: Hiruma's rescued, in possession of his own personal artifact, and on his way to get some information on this evil Blake guy that kidnapped his mother. The others are following. Zeke (a third party person) is currently working his ass off trying to make a familiar.

Hidden

By: Bar-Ohki

Chapter 33: Shin Sejiuro, Aura Seer

After the group boarded the train, Hiruma sat down and quietly listened to explanations as to what everyone's abilities were. Or the abilities of the objects they carried were in the case of the non-magical linemen. During these explanations, Hiruma had decided to let Shin look at Akumetsu closely.

The aura seeing Sensitive looked the gun up and down carefully. It didn't appear to have an aura at all, which was a very strange thing. All objects had auras, even the littlest stones did. The fact the gun had no aura to speak of was remarkable feat. Though Shin's instincts were telling him that he was holding a very powerful thing even if the object appeared ordinary.

When the explanations were finally over, Shin handed the gun back to Hiruma with a shake of his head.

"You didn't fucking See anything?" Hiruma asked as he examined the gun. It looked like he could take it apart for cleaning, but Hiruma was hesitant to do so.

"That's the problem." Shin explained. "I didn't See anything. There is no aura."

"That's odd." Kurita muttered. "All objects have auras, don't they?"

"That gun is an exception." Shin stated flatly.

"Fatty can you Sense anything?" Hiruma handed the gun to Kurita. Kurita simply shook his head and handed it back.

"…Artifacts are complicated objects of untold powers." Doburoku explained. "Even if you are able to discover an attribute about the artifact, it might decide to change itself later."

"Malhavoc's dagger was pretty straight forward." Shin remarked. "It had an anti-magic aura that was sharp enough to cut magic."

"Well on the surface that is what Escarlaje does, cut magic." Doburoku pointed out. "I have heard stories about the weapon changing its shape to suit its master, and I have also heard stories about it being indestructible."

"An indestructible weapon?" Sena blinked. "But there can't be such a thing!"

"Artifacts, from what I know, are pretty hardy things. They are generally considered indestructible, but most of the time they are actually really hard to break." Mamori explained. "I've heard the only way to destroy an artifact is to use another artifact."

"That's more powerful." Zork added. "Artifacts do have ranges of power."

"S-shield?" Komusubi asked.

"He's asking how powerful his artifact is." Kurita quickly translated.

"Hmm." Zork paused a moment. "Magically, it's considered one of the most powerful ones but physically it's not all that sturdy."

"Physically?" Shin blinked.

"Well in theory it can't withstand having say, a large dragon smash into it." Zork explained. "But no one has been particularly inclined to test the idea, so it's only a theory."

"So this fucking gun is pretty much indestructible?" Hiruma waved it to emphasis his point.

"Pretty much." Zork assured his brother.

"…But what is the significance of it not having an aura?" Shin asked.

"…What if it channels auras?" Doburoku asked. "You can't have much of an aura yourself if you want to go about doing that."

"It might." Shin admitted after a while. "I'd have to see it fired again."

"We'll wait until we get back to the Upground then." Hiruma said simply. Everyone understood why, shooting that gun on the magical train was probably a bad idea.

"…I wonder how bad the situation is in the Upground since we've left." Mamori muttered, concerned.

"Mamo-nee?" Sena was confused and concerned.

"In the worst case, Blake has completely broken free of his Seals and is now running around gathering up power and slaves." Zork explained.

"How does that fucker do that?" Hiruma asked.

"…Necromancy is the magic of souls," Zork explained, "typically you can't use it on someone currently living because the souls of the living are fundamentally different than the souls of the dead in a way that makes it really hard to use magic on them."

"…I've heard that Blake has the ability to control the souls of the living." Doburoku commented.

"Yeah, which allows him to make slaves out of anyone." Zork explained. "I don't know what exactly he does to gain power, but I think it involves sucking the souls out of the living and stealing the powers of that person."

"Wouldn't that distort and destroy your own soul?" Shin couldn't help but to ask.

"It would." Zork nodded. "But Necromancers have ways to keep their souls relatively intact, but not untainted from such magics."

"So the more powerful this guy gets, the more crazy and evil he gets?" Musashi asked for confirmation.

"Yeah." Zork nodded.

"…I don't think it's the worst case." Shin remarked. "We would have felt the consequences of an amount of magic that large being unleashed."

"And Zeke probably would have said something." Doburoku added. "Since his magic is bound up in that Seal, he would know if his part of it broke."

"So the real issue is how much of the Seal has failed and what parts of it." Juumonji observed.

"I don't know a lot about Blake's Seal," Doburoku admitted, "but from what I do know about Seals is that the weaker parts fail first."

"So what are the weaker parts?" Mamori asked.

"I'm not sure." Doburoku admitted.

"But Blake is moving around." Ayla pointed out suddenly. "Usually anti-movement parts of a Seal are the sturdiest."

"…It might not be Blake moving around." Mamori suggested after a moment. "It might be a projection of him or he might be possessing someone."

"That seems to make more sense." Doburoku nodded.

"Why did that fucking elf have to use my blood to make the familiar?" Hiruma asked suddenly, his distaste for the thought clear as day.

"So that it can have magic and be around you." Zork explained. "At least, that's what Zeke-Mancer said earlier."

"Tch." Hiruma looked out the train window, there was nothing but darkness.

"I can't believe I missed being in the Underground." Sena complained. Mihae, Sena's mother, had always told him stories of the Underground growing up. It had always been Sena's dream to go.

"There will be other opportunities." Doburoku assured Sena. "I don't think any of us have seen the last of the Underground."

The train windows lit up, suddenly showing them the outside world. Quickly the train came to a stop in the deserted Deimon Station. Everyone exited and the Underground Underground rushed away, leaving the lot them standing there on the platform.

"It's really different during the day." Zork commented, looking around with his wide, blue eyes.

"How are we going to fucking walk around in this?" Hiruma gestured to everyone's clothes.

Mamori smirked and cast a glamour spell which made everyone appear to be wearing more normal things. Hiruma was slightly annoyed by this, as he was tempted to eat the magic, but knew better. Shin pleasantly observed that Hiruma now had some control over what he chose to eat.

The linebacker Sensitive looked around and saw strange, puke-green spots of magic around. He frowned and told the others of this, not recognizing the aura signature.

"I can't say whether or not it's Blake's, but it might explain why the station is empty." Doburoku observed.

"Can you point me to some?" Hiruma asked. Shin found it an odd request and led Hiruma over to a nearby poll. Shin pointed at the bottom corner of the 'no running' sign on the poll. Hiruma got close to it and sniffed, recoiling immediately. Hiruma had a slight watering of the eyes that came from smelling something strongly unpleasant and was currently clasping his hands on his nose.

"…Can you smell magic?" Shin asked, rather disturbed by the thought.

"I eat the fucking stuff," Hiruma reminded Shin acidly, "of course I can fucking smell it!"

"…Well the green spots are defiantly not good magic." Shin eyed Hiruma apologetically.

"Where now?" Kuroki asked.

"Where ever Lotem was when she was attacked," Juumonji suggested, "except we don't know where that was."

"…I think we should talk to the Elders." Doburoku advised. "They are connected to Blake's Seal to this day, they might know something we don't."

"Or perhaps they can explain the taint." Ayla pointed out.

After having left the station Shin looked around. There were green spots here and there, fairly infrequent. He commented on this and the group nodded. The city was a silent place, no animal noise and no sign of people.

"Cerberus," Yukimitsu bent down to touch the dog familiar, "do you smell anything?"

With remarkable obedience, the dog sniffed around.

_**::**__The people have been gone for about half a day. The animals have been gone for at least two days…. Mention to the others the significance of animals, those idiots probably don't know it.__**::**_ Cerberus told Yukimitsu simply.

"He said the people have been gone for half a day while the animals have been gone for at least two." Yukimitsu imparted Cerberus' observations to the others. "The fact the animals have been gone for a while is really bad news though."

"How so?" Suzuna asked.

"Animals are more sensitive to certain kinds of dangers than people are," Yukimitsu explained, "What it means is that Blake's been moving around for at least two days."

"Shit." Doburoku cursed, completely upset by this.

"And isn't the Seal centered at Mount Fuji?" Ayla remarked. "I don't know where that is from here, but it doesn't seem close."

"You suspect it's going to be worse the closer we get to the mountain?" Mamori asked Ayla, who nodded in response.

"I think we should find the Elders first." Shin announced.

"I worked for them part time recently," Musashi admitted, "if we can find a car I can get us there."

"Don't we need keys for to use a car?" Taki asked.

"Ke ke ke!" Hiruma cackled. "I can fucking hijack one."

"Or I could just turn it on with magic, that's a lot simpler." Mamori pointed out.

"We'll need a bus again." Doburoku simply pointed at the size of the group. The lot then proceeded to walk to the bus station. No one noticed anything weirder than they had already found. There was one abandoned bus there, everyone boarded and Mamori started it. Musashi then drove them down the empty streets towards the building he had worked at. Shin Saw the magical aura around the building long before they got there.

"Looks like the wards here are intact." Shin remarked as they pulled up to the building. Shin observed that by the door there was a small barrier that Musashi drove them through. Once inside the barrier, it firmed up, trapping them inside. A man came out of the little kiosk by the gate and stared at Musashi, startled as hell.

"What!? How!?" The man sputtered, his once nice suit looked wrinkled and abused.

"I've been busy attending matters in the Underground." Musashi told the man flatly. "The authorities down there sent me up with this party to help deal with Blake, will you let me in?"

"Your hand." The man held out his hand and Musashi touched it. Shin observed there was a small bit of magic to be used.

"I am not lying." Musashi told the man. There was no change in the magic.

"No, you are not." The man nodded and walked into the booth and had the gate opened. Once through the gate, Shin saw that the back was covered in Mediums and Hiruma observed that the entire place reeked of magic.

"Are you okay?" Mamori asked Hiruma, worried.

"Lots of magic." Hiruma muttered.

"The air here is full of it." Shin added.

Musashi simply pulled the bus up to the front of the skyscraper. The others had been rather shocked by the sudden appearance of the building, but since they had witnessed from pretty strange stuff on their adventure already, no one commented. The group exited the bus and walked into the building where they were immediately confronted by Tsubasa Tama, who was wearing an unkempt looking pink business suit and her round glasses looked crooked.

"Tsubasa-sensei!" Shin gasped, recognizing the woman.

"Why are you here!?" Tsubasa demanded, pointing an accusing finger at Hiruma.

"To find my mother." Hiruma responded simply, looking at his fingernails and feigning boredom.

"You mess with my brother and I'll set your smelly hair on fire!" Zork snapped, his voice sounding particularly low and threatening.

"Brat!" Hiruma hissed, pulling Zork back by his collar. "If I wanted to fuck up the woman because she was annoying, I'd do it myself."

"Elder Tsubasa, where are all the people?" Doburoku demanded.

"…The Seals on Blake are failing." Tsubasa admitted gravely.

"Which parts?" Mamori asked.

"This is beyond-" Tsubasa protested when Doburoku walked up and grabbed her shirt to pull her down to his eye level.

"This situation is beyond _you_. This group was sent here under the authority of Zeke of Vent and I will have you know that they are more than capable of dealing with the problem. Right now what I need is your full cooperation, is that clear Tama-chan?" Doburoku almost growled at her.

"Zeke of Vent?" Tsubasa's eyes were wide.

"Yes, Zeke of Vent." Doburoku told her as he tossed her backwards a little. "Now, tell us what you know."

"…Of all the Elders currently in Japan, I'm the only one Blake hasn't gotten to yet." Tsubasa admitted. "He's got a handful of slaves running around doing kidnapping for him, all of them are Oujou football players."

"Why Oujou?" Sena was clearly confused by this.

"We had a scheduled practice over on Mount Fuji…!" Shin gasped seeing what happened there.

"That's when Blake possessed them." Ayla finished.

"Well needless to say all of those boys are strong and able bodied, none of them are anything less than normal except Shin." Tsubasa added. "Blake had them scouring the city earlier, looking for something over by Deimon High School, no idea if he found it."

"He was probably looking for Hiruma-kun." Doburoku observed.

"Is every fucking magical being after me?" Hiruma ranted.

"Blake probably wants to eliminate you as a threat," Tsubasa explained, "or turn you into a weapon of his choice."

Hiruma didn't say anything but he did look disgusted.

"Do you know where Mom is!?" Zork demanded.

"Your mother?" Tsubasa was a little confused.

"Lotem of the Moon Mountain Roost was here in the Upground turning two non-magical women over to the Elders here." Doburoku explained. "We know that Blake managed to capture her and we want to investigate the scene."

"…If it was Lotem, she was probably looking for Yuuya-san." Tsubasa muttered. "And Yuuya was talking to the parents of the missing Deimon students today…."

"Wait!" Sena gasped. "He was talking to my Mom!? Blake might have her too!"

"Where was he going to meet them?" Musashi demanded.

"Kurita-san's shrine."

"My house!?" Kurita gasped.

_=_=_=_=_=_

And I leave you there.


	34. Tsubasa, Braking Elder

Author's Note: I have new doujinshi. That makes me happy. I also have had a remarkable amount of school work, that makes for late updates.

The Story So Far: The members of Oujou are currently under the control of one evil Necromancer named Blake. Currently all of the Elders of the Eastern Ocean Isles have been kidnapped accept Tsubasa. Hiruma's mother is amongst those who are missing and the group is now on yet another rescue mission.

Hidden

By: Bar-Ohki

Chapter 34: Tsubasa, Braking Elder 

"Bring her with us." Hiruma told Doburoku as they were about to leave the Elder's headquarters to try to find more clues as to what Blake was doing. Hiruma was currently pointing at Tsubasa.

"I suppose she could be useful…." Doburoku eyed the woman with slight suspicion. He hadn't trusted her much when they had worked together and he sure as heck did not trust her now. With a sigh Doburoku approached Tsubasa.

"We need you to come with us." Doburoku informed her curtly.

"Come with you?" Tsubasa's eyes practically fell out of her face. "Are you insane?"

"No Tsubasa-sensei." Shin shook his head. "We'd really like your expertise right now."

"I can't leave," Tsubasa protested, "I'm the one in charge here."

"You're an Elder," Zork pointed out, "delegate."

"…I'll do it if someone must." Ayla volunteered.

"Ayla?" Sena stopped starting at her.

"I was raised by O'Neil and Burton." Ayla explained. "I know all duties of an Elder and how they are to run their governments."

"…You're Ayla then." Tsubasa observed. "I suppose you'll have to do then. Mota!"

A little green cat came bounding over. Shin Saw that the animal was extremely magical.

"Mota, this lady, Ayla, will be in charge in my stead while I step out. Make sure she stays in authority while I am away." Tsubasa instructed the creature.

"Come on lady, we haven't got all day." Kuroki demanded from the door where he was waiting impatiently.

"Come back safely!" Ayla wished the others as they finally made their exit.

Tsubasa uncomfortablely joined the group on the bus. A small round of introductions where made.

"Zork, son of Dalboz, apprentice to the Dungeon Master." Zork finished giving Tsubasa a clear frown of distaste. "Youichi, why is she here!?"

"Because she fucking knows things." Hiruma answered gruffly. "I don't know a fucking lot about magic and seals and shit, she does and she can fucking use it unlike the fucking alcoholic." Hiruma waved an arm in Doburoku's direction.

"We'll have to stop by Deimon later," Mamori thought out loud, "and look for clues around there."

"…What did Lord Zeke tell you?" Tsubasa asked after a long moment.

"He instructed us to find out what happened here and to stay away from Blake-" Juumonji began.

"Don't say his name!" Tsubasa gasped. "If you do he'll be able to keep an eye on us!"

To Shin a large cloud of that puke green magic started heading their way. He informed everyone and pointed at it. Hiruma calmly opened a window and signaled to Shin to come over.

"I'm going to shoot it, show me where it is." Hiruma told Shin simply. With a nod Shin pointed keeping his finger at the heart of the cloud. After some minor calculations to account for the differences in the angle, Hiruma aimed and fired. Shin watched the gun this time, it lit up with Hiruma's aura, specifically the part that seemed to eat magic, and fired out in the size of a small bullet. The aim was true and the green cloud was reduced to a small bit of ice, now a Medium. Because they were in a moving vehicle, the Medium moved out of sight.

"You got it." Shin told the waiting Hiruma after a second. "All of it."

"Good." Hiruma smiled and sat back down, playing with the gun in his hand.

"…We're not supposed to have any confrontations with the enemy until Zeke catches up with us." Zork finished for Juumonji. "In the meanwhile we are to get as much information as we can."

"And I'm supposed to practice shooting Akumetsu." Hiruma added as he continued to flip the gun around in his hand.

"Ah." Tsubasa nodded. "What is Lord Zeke doing exactly?"

"Getting another angle on the situation." Doburoku answered. They arrived at Kurita's family's temple. Shin saw that the place was covered with the puke green magic.

"The fucker's been all over here." Hiruma commented as he put a hand on his nose.

"…The wards are in tatters." Shin added worriedly.

"Eh!?" Kurita protested. He could sense that something horrible had happened. "I think there's a Medium on the inside that wasn't there before!"

"Huh?" Kuroki stared at Kurita. "Is that a problem?"

"The enemy might be making a seal for his seal…" Tsubasa guessed gravely.

"Sounds problematic." Togano observed.

"Should we even go in then?" Kuroki asked lazily.

"Yes." Doburoku answered gravely. "We _have_ to find out what happened."

"Ah-ha-ha!" Taki cried. "Let me show you how it's done!" He leapt out of the bus and started to walk right up into the temple.

"That idiot!"

Mamori waved her hand while muttering something and with a burst of magic, Taki found himself hanging upside down.

"Impossible!"

"We'll watch the idiot." Juumonji assured the others as he got off the bus, Kuroki and Togano at his heels.

"You're the most problematic one." Togano muttered at Taki.

Everyone got off the bus and entered the temple cautiously. Kurita and Shin were in the front; Kurita because he lived there and Shin because he could see the magic. Mamori hung in the back of the party, trying to stay aware of any changes behind them. The Huh brothers stood around Taki with their shields ready in the middle of the group. Monta and Musashi hung in the back, in case there was something to catch and kick back as an attack. Ishimaru and Sena hung towards the front in the event they had to run away, they could alert the others. Hiruma was in the exact middle, Akumetsu at the ready.

Shin and Kurita carefully led the way into the heart of the shrine, towards the mysterious Medium. When they came into the courtyard at the heart of the shrine everyone gasped at the sight. There were several corpses, all adults they didn't know, laying around. There was blood everywhere. Shin observed that some of the blood was actually the Medium they were looking for, he told the others of this.

"The blood is the Medium?" Juumonji shuddered.

"It's not the fucker." Hiruma observed. "…I don't think it's human."

"Malhavoc!" Zork cried from the side pointing. Everyone turned and looked at the corpse of the elf. Escarlaje had been jabbed into the ground in front of him between his legs. Malhavoc had, by the blood splatter, collapsed against the corner wall before siding down and dying. He had several cuts on his person and his neat black clothes were now cut to bits. Something had happened to Malhavoc's hair, it was no longer completely black. Now it had random streaks of red in it.

"It's his blood!" Shin gasped. "His blood is the Medium!"

"Escarlmilen!" Doburoku gasped.

"Hey." Malhavoc managed to cough, startling everyone.

"You're not dead!?" Tsubasa shrieked.

"About to be." Malhavoc said quietly. "Too little magic." He managed to sit up and pull Escarlaje out of the ground. His wounds bleed extra because of the action, spurting blood all over his face and the surrounding area. Mamori rushed to his side and began using her magic to heal his wounds. After a hesitant moment, Tsubasa joined her.

Hiruma sniffed Malhavoc once and knew what had happened. Malhavoc's blood had magic in it, making it a potent Medium. Apparently in the fight Malhavoc had gotten himself pretty cut up, because his blood was all over the place.

"50 people…." Ishimaru muttered in awe. "He killed 50 of them."

"I didn't kill the master minions." Malhavoc muttered. "They got away."

"Did you see Mom!?" Zork demanded.

"Yeah." Malhavoc muttered. "Several others."

"Why are you still dying!?" Mamori cried, upset and sad.

"Too little magic." Doburoku answered. "Elves need magic to survive and he a great deal recently."

"What?" Hiruma's eyes got wide.

"They headed south." Malhavoc told them flatly. "I think."

Hiruma frowned and knelt down next to Malhavoc.

"Tell me everything." Hiruma demanded.

Malhavoc shook his head slightly. "No time."

Everyone gasped when Hiruma dropped Akumetsu and grabbed Malhavoc's face in his hands. "Then try!"

Malhavoc responded by making a really strange, pained noise and convulsing. It was hideously obvious that he was dying and painfully. Hiruma growled and began unconsciously to eat the magic out of the Mediums around him. Shin Saw this and watched silently with a shiver. When Hiruma had eaten more than his fill he forced the magic from his stomach into his hands and into Malhavoc.

The elf started to shriek again, sounding like he was in a great deal of agony. He convulsed some more and tried vainly to take Hiruma's hands off his face. Shin simply shut his eyes, trying to shield himself from the red light.

With a small thump, Hiruma fell to the ground beside Malhavoc, who had stopped screaming to pant shuddering breaths. The elf's red eyes were opened wide, his expression one of pain and complete disbelief. Mamori reached towards Hiruma and stopped when she heard a small snore.

"What the hell?" Tsubasa muttered, breaking the silence.

"…I'd rather die next time." Malhavoc muttered as he stood up slowly. He brushed off his tattered clothes a little and proceeded to stretch a little. It was clear that whatever pain he had been in was fading fairly quickly.

"What did he do?" Mamori asked.

"…He poured my magic back into me." Malhavoc pulled a leg up into a y-stance like Taki did. "Painfully might I add."

"I will not be outdone!" Taki also went up into a y-stance. Malhavoc blinked once at the behavior and just casually changed legs, continuing his stretches.

"Now that I am no longer in immediate danger of dying I suppose I can tell you what I have seen." Malhavoc remarked as he eyed the sleeping Hiruma. "Should I wake him first?"

"You can do that?" Zork asked.

"I have a Waking Plant." Malhavoc held up a bag.

"Aren't those toxic to humans?" Kurita asked.

"He's half human." Malhavoc reminded everyone with an almost psychotic grin.

"Are you sure your mind is working properly?" Tsubasa scoffed. "You did lose a lot of blood."

"I'm plenty aware of the effectiveness of my mental capacity at the moment." Malhavoc told her simply. "If you were half as clever as I you would have realized I was testing some basic knowledge of this group here. I'm not about to give them information if they can't handle knowing it."

"Testing them!?" Tsubasa shrieked. "I'll have you know they were selected by Lord Zeke!"

"My brother isn't the best judge of character." Malhavoc rolled his eyes at her. "And I doubt they were selected by Zeke, I bet he just asked them to do something casually like he does whenever he's pressed for time."

"What!?" Tsubasa gasped and stared. "Lord Zeke isn't-!"

"You don't know my brother even a visible faction as well as I do." Malhavoc told her acidly. "Why would a wise woman such as yourself possibly think you could tell me what my brother would do? Besides I know you heard it second-hand and deception is a weapon I know Doburoku proficient with."

"Now's not the time for games!" Sena protested. "My mom might have been kidnapped, I have to know!"

"That!" Malhavoc pointed at Sena with a pleased expression. "Is what I was waiting for. If you have no will, there is no point in relying on you to complete whatever task my brother gave the lot of you."

"You wanted to know if we had the will?" Juumonji gave Malhavoc a sick look.

"Because you're about to deal with quite the trail of it." Malhavoc pointed up at the roof where Sakuraba was currently crouching with a knife. "Especially since I can't do much about him in my current condition…."

"Sakuraba?" Shin gasped, seeing the horrid magic swirling around his teammate and friend.

"He's one of the major minions." Malhavoc explained. "He and a few others carried off the people that were meeting in there." The elf pointed at the room to their right. "Lotem and Elder Yuuya were among that number."

"Are there others around?" Zork asked looking around wearily.

"My senses are pretty disoriented at this time," Malhavoc admitted, "you probably have a better idea than me."

"We'll just have to break the curse then." Mamori announced standing up to the challenge.

"My specialty, huh?" Tsubasa muttered, eyeing Sakuraba carefully.

"Your specialty?" Musashi asked.

"She's an expert curse-breaker." Doburoku explained. "What exactly do you need to get it done?"

"I need my hands on Sakuraba when he's not about to stab me." Tsubasa admitted.

"I'll do it then." Shin stepped forward, pulling his gloves on.

"We need to get him down first…." Juumonji muttered.

Malhavoc picked up a stone and tossed it at Sakuraba. The wide receiver jumped off the roof to dodge it. Upon landing he rushed forward with an inhumanly fast speed. Malhavoc cursed lightly and braced himself to dodge at the last possible second. Thankfully Cerberus intervened and tackled Sakuraba at the torso. It wasn't enough to completely stop the charge, but he was slowed down enough for Shin to use his Trident Tackle on him. Juumonji and Komusubi were on Sakuraba before he and Shin hit the ground. Somehow the knife went flying, Monta caught the thing and set it out of harm's way. Kuroki and Togano joined in helping hold the violently fighting Sakuraba down.

"…I think that's as good as we can get it." Doburoku muttered as Kurita and Musashi helped by sitting on the wide receiver and holding the man's head in place.

Tsubasa said nothing and set her hands on Sakuraba's forehead. Shin watched her hands light up in a soft purple glow which carefully prodded at the green curse. After a few prods there was a large flash and the purple magic started hammering very pointedly on the green curse. In several places the curse broke off, in others it just cracked. Tsubasa worked until she had the green magic broken apart pretty thoroughly. Then she removed her hands and magic. By this point Sakuraba had passed out.

"I couldn't completely remove it." Tsubasa admitted. "The enemy is really powerful."

"The fuck?" Hiruma muttered, finally having woke up.

Malhavoc didn't say anything right away. "…Do you need to eat some magic?"

Hiruma didn't answer but looked at the elf carefully.

"The Half-Fire Necromancer cursed that boy there." Malhavoc pointed at Sakuraba. "And the curse still holds tight."

"Yeah." Hiruma answered and walked over, looking down and Sakuraba. He began to eat the nasty-smelling magic which made his stomach churn unpleasantly. Shin watched the rest of the curse finally leave his friend.

"Done." Hiruma muttered sounding ill.

"Far from it." Malhavoc corrected. "We far, far from done."

_=_=_=_=_

Don't worry, there's some more explanations in the next chapter. Please review!


	35. Escarlaje

Author's Note: Only two reviews? I am sad. Thank you to those who did review. Escarlaje, for those who don't recall, is Malhavoc's artifact and is known for being able to cut magic in half.

The Story So Far: After swapping Ayla for Tsubasa, the group headed to Kurita's family's shrine, the last place their parents had been seen. There they found a fatally wounded Malhavoc (whom they managed to save) and freed Sakuraba from the curse Blake put on him.

Hidden

By: Bar-Ohki

Chapter 35: Escarlaje

"Now I will tell the lot of you what happened here." Malhavoc announced without missing a beat.

"You really killed them…." Ishimaru muttered, having been checking all the corpses for signs of life.

"Don't interrupt me and I will explain." Malhavoc glared in Ishimaru's direction. "The fact is I may no longer be dying but I am far from healthy. I can only see without blurs only a pace in front of me. My hearing is probably as bad as a human's…." Malhavoc sounded grave.

"Malhavoc!" Zork gasped, his eyes wide in fear.

"I had come here to deal with the other melfin that was created," Malhavoc began, "since the spell that caused the first one was a teleportation one, the place they teleported from was logically going to collapse into a melfin. While I was in the area I decided to stop by and trade some information."

"You came here to trade information?" Mamori stared at Malhavoc in disbelief.

"I'm giving you some right now free of charge." Malhavoc reminded her gruffly. "I was sure your parents wanted to know where their children were residing, so I charged them a small exchange and told them where the lot of you was. The other trade was with the two Elders who wanted to know your fate, Youichi."

"Tch."

"I cut my dealing short when I noticed the presence of a large force in the area. I managed to get myself into this courtyard when I was attacked." Malhavoc rubbed the back of his head a little. "These puppets didn't fall unconscious when I struck them blows hard enough to knock out a troll; I was left with no option but to kill them."

"What!?"

"There was 75 of them and one of me, the only way I was going to survive was if I managed to keep a defeated enemy from coming back up and returning to the fray. They managed to knock away my sword," Malhavoc pointed at the hilt sticking out of one of the pillars, "which forced me to use Escarlaje to defend myself."

"Wait…. Where are the other 25 corpses?" Juumonji looked around.

"You killed 75 people in _self defense?!"_ Mamori squeaked.

Malhavoc rolled his eyes at the antics before him. "Allow me to finish before you start making idiotic conclusions."

The group fell into silence again.

"Escarlaje is a magic-cutting weapon," Malhavoc reminded them, "and as such it can cut the spells that kept the puppets under the Half-Fire Necromancer's control. Unfortunately when you cut a spell you can't be too sure what it's going to do after that. Frankly, spells are not designed to be cut and cutting them is very hazardous. On top of that I have no way of knowing what part of the spell I'm cutting."

"…It's amazing you haven't kill yourself doing that!" Tsubasa whispered.

"The wounds I got were not delivered by my opponents directly." Malhavoc admitted. "Every cut I received was from the collapsing and warping of the spells I cut."

"You mean you could have killed all 75 of these people and not have gotten hurt if you didn't use Escarlaje?!" Mamori gasped.

"Exactly." Malhavoc nodded once. "Now, the missing bodies are missing because they were vaporized by the spells' collapsing. A few others just burst into flame and left only a small bit of ash behind. And there was one that exploded."

"Is that what happened to this guy?" Kuroki pointed to a corpse that looked like something blew up inside it.

"Yes." Malhavoc nodded. "After I managed to kill the lot of them I was already fatally wounded. At that point the only thing I could manage was to keep the Necromancer from getting my body to reanimate."

"Reanimate?" Musashi asked.

"It's when a Necromancer uses magic to make a corpse move around again, like zombie." Yukimitsu explained.

"Only worse because I would be a puppet with intelligence." Malhavoc added. "And all the training and memories I've put into my body would be easily remembered."

"So all that skill you have as an assassin would have been at the fucker's disposal." Hiruma concluded with a frown.

"Yes, that's why I had to place protections so that my corpse would be safe from that." Malhavoc nodded. "I used the corner there and created a Blood Seal with Escarlaje as a Keystone."

"A Blood Seal?" Togano asked.

"He uses his blood as a physical medium to create a barrier around himself." Tsubasa explained. "And with the fact that you are an Escarmilen, it would have been extra effective."

"You can use Escarlaje as a Keystone?" Shin frowned, confused by this. Malhavoc held up the dagger and tapped the red jewel on it.

"That is a Keystone right there." Malhavoc explained. "And for those who don't know, a Keystone is a object placed specifically so that certain kinds of spells will hold together. Unfortunately, if a Keystone is removed or destroyed, the spell will fall apart. As an artifact, Escarlaje is nearly indestructible and with a little prompting I can make it cut the magic up of anything that touches it."

"That would make it a good Keystone." Tsubasa observed.

"The major minions have enough intelligence and of the Necromancer's expertise to know better than to try and take my body at that time. I pretended to be dead as they walked by which allowed me to see who they carried out with them." Malhavoc tend launched off into a detailed description of everyone he saw being carried away. The group confirmed everyone there as a parent or relative that knew about magic in some way.

"Could you show us the room they had been in?" Doburoku asked after Malhavoc finished.

"Can I get my effects first?" Malhavoc asked. Everyone begrudgingly waited for the elf to comb the courtyard, picking up the occasional dart and pulling his sword out of the pillar. It turned out Malhavoc's sword was fairly short and thin, but it was strong and extremely sharp. Malhavoc then cleaned his weapons and rearranged his tattered clothes a bit, trying to make himself a little more presentable. He then led them into one of the back rooms where prayers were held. Kuirta picked up Sakuraba and carried him with them.

The room was covered in Blake's magic.

Doburoku amplified Kurita's abilities, allowing the Sensitive to tell them a little more about what had happened. It turned out that all the magic users had retaliated, but Blake had somehow absorbed their attacks and then captured them once they were exhausted. A few craters littered the walls and floor.

"I presume that's when Lotem decided to punch something." Malhavoc remarked, knelling down in front of one the craters.

Hiruma didn't say anything, but he did pale a bit.

"Succubus are inhumanly strong, Incubus are inhumanly quick. You wouldn't have been able to live in the Upground if you had inherited your mother's strength." Malhavoc pointed out wisely and softly.

Hiruma nodded, understanding completely.

"Lotem didn't use any magic." Shin observed, a little perplexed by this development.

"Underground magic isn't very powerful in the Upground," Zork explained, "you have to be either very powerful or have a good channel if you want to access it here. Mom isn't that powerful and she doesn't have a channel that I know off…."

"She couldn't use magic then." Mamori concluded.

"So you're extremely powerful then?" Juumonji asked Malhavoc, recalling the size of the shield the elf had made to enclose the melfin earlier.

"And I have a good channel." Malhavoc held up Escarlaje.

Musashi looked at Zork, then looked and met Malhavoc's gaze. Zork, to most of the group's unawareness, was pretty damn powerful. This made Musashi shiver a bit.

"…I think we are done here." Malhavoc remarked after a moment.

"What?" Monta asked. "But we've only been here for a few minutes!"

"I can reenact what happened here well enough for my brother's needs." Malhavoc explained.

"Malhavoc is an expert at these things," Doburoku assured them, "and I'm sure he knows what Zeke will want to know better than us."

"Your magical observations are better than I can do," Malhavoc remarked as he began to leave, "Zeke will be pleased about that."

"I can't see how you and Zeke are related." Monta admitted. "You look so different."

"That we do." Malhavoc nodded. "If I didn't know better I'd tell you I wasn't related to him either."

And with that the group fell into a slience that stuck with them until they arrived at Deimon. Thankfully there was no one around, but some idiot (probably the principal) had locked the gates.

"How are we going to get inside?" Mamori asked. She could unlock the lock with magic, but she wanted to conserve her powers.

"It's a simple lock." Malhavoc remarked as he pulled out a long, thin, metal rod and stuck it up into the lock. Less than a second later the padlock clicked open.

"You can pick locks?" Juumonji was surprised.

"I can also kill you in your sleep and leave no trace." Malhavoc gave Juumonji a flat look. "Lock picking is a much easier task, really."

No one commented to that and they entered into the area. There were small traces of Blake's magic, but they were few and weak. Upon arrival at the clubhouse, they discovered Takami passed out in front of the partly open door.

"What happened?" Tsubasa asked. Zork pointed at the red smudge on the handle of the door.

"Youichi's blood has a magic absorbing property," Zork explained, "and there's some of it here on the handle." Hiruma didn't seem too thrilled with the news, but said nothing.

"It only got part of it." Shin added.

"Fuck." Hiruma muttered and walked over to Takami. He quietly ate the magic and felt extremely naucious afterwards. Malhavoc frowned and proceeded to punch Hiruma in the stomach, making him vomit up all the horrible magic. The stuff smelled like rotting jello and looked a lot worse than the auras Shin had been observing all day.

"Ungh." Hiruma muttered, no longer feeling nacious, but feeling like crap because he was just puking.

"Urbzig!" Malhavoc cried and drove Escarlaje into the nasty green goo, making disappear instantly. After a funny sway, Malhavoc fell over onto his butt, exhausted. The elf began to chatter strangely, saying words in languages no one was familiar with.

"…I think that's Ventish Elfin," Zork commented, "I hope it is."

"What do you think is wrong with him?" Tsubasa asked Doburoku.

"Magic exhaustion maybe?" Doburoku guessed. "He's acting more like he's drunk."

"Maybe he ate the green stuff?" Taki suggested.

"No."

"Impossible!"

"…I suppose we should do something about the melfin while we are here." Mamori changed the subject suddenly. "Since Malhavoc can't do anything."

"Don't worry about him," Zork assured the others, "Zeke-Mancer is his brother, he'll fix him right up!"

"M-melfin!" Komusubi cried, holding up his shield.

"Right!"

_=_=_=_=_

And I leave you there.


	36. Glossary

Author's Note: I know I use a lot of technical words in this story. So I decided to sit down and write up some definitions for everyone to avoid confusion. You will notice that there are some parenthesis with numbers in front of the words. The first number is the chapter where the concept, place, person comes into the story to be interacted with. The first reference to the object is the second number (some places are referred to frequently, like Vent, but are not interacted with). For example the Upground was interacted with in chapter 1, but it wasn't referenced as such until chapter 22. Also there are some terms and people in this glossary that haven't entered the story yet, they will in time, but I won't put in chapter numbers because I'm not exactly sure when they will appear.

Hidden

By: Bar-Ohki

-Glossary-

**Places:**

_(1,22) Upground:_

The world as we know it. This includes cars, buses, airplanes, schools highways and all the technological wonders of our modern society.

(13,19) England:

England is home to the headquarters of the Northern Europe region of the magical governments of the Upground. In chapter , Youichi was kidnapped and taken there. Ayla is from England.

-(22,19) Liverpool:

Most of the England scenes happen in the city of Liverpool, which is in the northern half of England.

(1,21) Japan:

A majority of the Upground scenes occur in Japan, specifically the Tokyo area. Japan is technically apart of the 'Eastern Ocean Isles' region of the magical governments of the Upground.

(3,3) Deimon High School:

The main characters and a majority of the important secondary characters attend this school. Their mascot is the Devil Bat. With the exception of Mamori, the entire student population is non-mages with a small handful of Sensitives (like Sena).

(5,23) The Elder's Headquarters:

A skyscraper that is hidden from the rest of the world by magic. Musashi has a part time job working here. The building is so heavily warded that Youichi can smell the magic in the air (see chapter 33).

(1,1) Kurita's Family's Shrine:

This is not just a Buddhist shrine, but it is also a Gateway. Because of its status as a Gateway, the place is covered in strong wards.

(-,32) Mt. Fuji:

Beneath the mountain is where Blake physically rests and was Sealed.

(8,7) Oujou High School:

Oujou is Deimon's unofficial football rivals. They had just lost a game against the Devil Bats in chapter 18: Revealed Under the Moon. Their mascot is the White Knight. Oujou has a small population of magical students and a large population of Sensitives. The only Sensitive on the football team is Shin.

_(22,22) Underground:_

The parallel word that has magic in it and is apparently just beneath our feet. The dominate races are elves and fairies.

(-,-) Amatsu: Amatsu is an island country not too far from Rune. Because it is easy to travel there, many of the people of Rune visit it.

(-,29) The Cross Roads:

The center of the Underground and the place where all maps are drawn in reference to. The Dungeon Master has a home there and spends a great deal of time there because of the private Underground Underground station. It gets its name from the four Great Roads that intersect there.

(29,29) Moon Mountains:

The first Succubus Roost and the home of their Queen (Lotem). At the center of these mountains is the Moon Mountain itself. Moon Mountain is an inactive ice volcano (as in it spews ice and other really cold things rather than lava). In the crater is a large, blue crystal called 'Su' which translates as 'big shiny'. Su is a massive Medium and its light can actually heal Succubus to a fairly great extent. The Room of Moon is located directly bellow the center of Su. Lotem, Emlyn, Youichi, Zork, Dalboz, and Cerberus (when he was originally alive as an Incubus) were all born in the Room of Moon.

(-,-) Rune: The country Kali is from. It is riddled with monsters and the locals have a great deal difficulty surviving in the day to day, so Rune produces some of the best human warriors you will ever see.

(-,29) Sun Mountain:

The first Incubus Roost and the home of their King (Yurick). Dalboz was raised here until he became old enough to become the Dungeon Master's Apprentice. Cerberus lived there all his life until is untimely demise at the hands of Malhavoc. Zork has never been to Sun Mountain, though he does affiliate himself with it.

(28,29) Ven Forest:

A Succubus Roost located west of the Cross Roads. Emlyn is the Mistress of this Roost.

(22,-) Vent:

A country that is almost completely impossible to get into. There are only two Underground Underground stations in Vent (one in the capitol city, Ventizul, and one in the Shadowlord's basement). Both stations require an appropriate purpose if you wish to travel to them (like going home or visiting a relative). Vent itself is surrounded by nearly impassible mountains on three sides and a particularly nasty straight in the sea on the fourth. Needless to say it is really hard to get Ventish goods.

(-,-) -Escar Forche (Shadow's Forest) aka Escar Forest:

A forest located in the center of Vent. It takes three weeks to travel to the heart of it from any direction. It is known for its extremely nasty monsters and even better known for its people, the Escarmelin (Shadow Clan), who live at the heart of the forest.

**Races:**

In Hidden there are several different species of sentient beings, here's a brief explanation of all the ones that have been mentioned. Since they have different levels of senses, I will list how different they are from the average human's senses.

(26,25) Bezzletrup:

Are gelatinous monsters that smell horribly. Their bodies are like a really stinky acid and they basically erode and eat anything they touch. The only reliable way to kill a bezzletrup is to pour salt water on it. It dissolves them like a slug. It is hard to say whether or not a bezzletrup even has a mind.

Senses:

We know nothing.

(-,22) Dragon:

Dragons are usually enormous reptilian creatures with wings. They can spew fire, ice, water, smog, poison, and other nasty things depending on their elemental properties. Not all dragons have wings and not all winged dragons can fly. All dragons are intelligent enough to speak in human tongues if they please. They are also the most magical creatures in existence. Some dragons can change their forms into that of a human. For this reason it is said that dragons put magic into the Upground by breeding in their human forms.

On a side note, Malhavoc has a scale from each breed of dragon native to Vent. His wife convinced him to get them for the heck of it.

Dragons can be Sealed by other dragons of the opposite element.

Senses:

Varies from dragon to dragon, but usually better than a human's.

(-,-) Devil Bat:

Youichi was completely unaware that he made the mascot of his high school after a real Underground creature. Devil Bats come in a wide range of colors, the red are considered especially rare and powerful. They don't speak real words in general, but occasionally they make noises that bare an uncanny resemblance to 'ya-ha'. Devil Bats eat rodents. They roost in place like Sun Mountain where it is warm.

Senses:

Sight: Same but they can see in absolute darkness.

Smell: 1.5 times.

Hearing: 1.5 times.

Touch: Same.

Taste: Same.

(22,25) Elf:

One of the dominate races of the Underground. Elves come in a large verity of breeds. In general elves are tall (over 2 meters usually), graceful, thin, pointy eared, and extremely magical. Most breeds of elf cannot die of old age, though there are two exceptions which are called the 'mortal elves'. Elves are, in general, as strong as a human and a little bit faster on their feet. All breeds of elves require only 6 hours of sleep each night.

Elfin bones work as Seals for humans.

Senses:

Sight: 4 times. As long as it is not true darkness (no light), an elf can see.

Smell: 1.5 times. An underappreciated fact.

Hearing: 10 times. Engines and the like often bother elves.

Touch: Same.

Taste: Same.

-(22,27) Ventish Elf:

Malhavoc and his brother Zeke are Ventish elves. In general they are shorter than a human, Malhavoc is abnormally short even for a Ventish elf (he is shorter than Monta and Sena). Ventish elves are one of the mortal elf races having a life span of about 1,500 years. Ventish elves also have pupils the color of their magic (which is why Malhavoc appears to have solid red eyes).

-(22,34) Escarmelin:

A clan of elves native to Vent. They vary from normal Ventish elves in two ways, the first is that their magic is directly a part of their blood and the second is the random streaks of color in their hair. Most people hunt Escarmelin for their blood and its magical properties. Malhavoc used magic-based dye to keep his hair appearing completely black usually, unfortunately in chapter , his dye's magic was undone, allowing the streaks to appear.

(26,26) Grue:

Grue live in darkness and are very territorial, if you wander into their shadows, they eat you. Grue are very susceptible to fire and light and will not wander out into light. Though, if you stick your hand into their shadow, they will use it to drag the rest of you in.

Because their bodies turn into fine ash when exposed to any sort of light, it is extremely hard to say what a Grue looks like, acts like, and thinks like. All we know is that they are silent and eat everything.

Senses:

We know nothing.

(-,-) Half-Elf, Half-Human:

Half-elf, half-human are often referred to simply as 'halfelves' and are fairly uncommon throughout the Underground, but are not unheard of. To elves it is considered shameful to take on a human mate, so halfelves are often shunned upon. Generally speaking a halfelf is a little faster than a human, a little weaker, has good senses and can use the magic of both races in small and mixed quantities. Halfelves generally have extremely long lives, assuming the elfin parent was not a mortal elf (then their life span is half of whatever their elfin parent's was).

Halfelves cannot be Sealed by bones.

Sight: 2 times, a halfelf has a great deal of difficulty seeing in low-light conditions, worse than a human in fact.

Smell: 1.25 times.

Hearing: 5 times.

Touch: Same.

Taste: Same.

(-,32) Half-Incubus, Half-Elf:

Blake is a half-Incubus, half-high elf. He has pointy ears, fangs, claws (all Incubus features) and a horrid attitude towards life. Blake uses elfin magic as opposed to Incubus magic and is not at all susceptible to soul magic like Incubus are. Blake is very elf-like physically, having some speed, but not insane speeds like Incubus have. Blake needs to consume souls in addition to eating on occasion.

Blake can be Sealed by human and Succubus bones. In fact, he currently is being Sealed by such.

Sight: 4 times, cannot see in true darkness.

Smell: Same.

Hearing: 5 times.

Touch: Same.

Taste: Same.

(1,1) Half-Succubus, Half-Human:

Hiruma Youichi is the only half-human half-Succubus in existence. Physically speaking is body is very human, having an average body temperature and strength. He has fangs and pointy ears (Succubus features) and cutting enjoys making his nails into points (this is a vain attempt to mimic having claws which Succubus have, but Youichi does not). Youichi's body is very bad at maintaining body heat (it strives to be colder than it should be) which makes him constantly have issues staying warm enough. This is why hot things appeal to him.

Rather than needing to eat souls, Youichi needs to consume magic to stay alive in addition to eating. He can smell magic and eats it using the same body system a Succubus would use to eat a soul. Magically speaking Youichi has Succubus magic rather than human magic. This means he can potentially create ice at absolute zero temperature. He can also use Charm, but in his case he can Charm members of both genders.

At this point no one is sure how Youichi's body will age, but most speculate his life span will be between that of a Succubus and that of a human. Youichi is naturally susceptible to soul magic, but counter measures have been taken to assure that Youichi is immune to soul magic should he choose to be.

Youichi can be Sealed by using a combination of Incubus and elfin bones.

Senses:

Sight: Same.

Smell: 1.5 times (5 times to magic).

Hearing: 2 times.

Touch: Same.

Taste: Same.

(1,2) Human:

Humans are the dominate race of the Upground. They walk on two feet and come in four general kinds: normal, Sensitive, mage, and part-human (which aren't really human but can appear as such). There are humans in the Underground, they are usually magical. Most characters in this story are human.

Human bones work as Seals for elves.

(17,5) Incubus:

Incubus are an all male race of soul eaters. Unlike a Succubus, an Incubus has to eat a soul via a physical medium (like the flesh off someone's arm). For this reason an Incubus can concentrate where a soul is on someone else's body. Incubus, like Succubus, live extremely long periods of time and cannot heal themselves. Unlike a Succubus, Incubus are much faster than humans, but also generally physically weaker. Magically speaking, Incubus are, in general, very weak while Succubus are about average.

Incubus are creatures of fire and day, having higher-than-human body temperatures. All Incubus have the ability to Charm women. Like a Succubus, if one uses the Charm as a child the members of the opposite sex believe the casters to be 'cute' rather than 'sexy'. Like Succubus, as children Incubus need smaller, more frequent meals and as adults they only need one soul every three months. Also like Succubus, Incubus have restricted magical abilities until their hair changes color and they grow into their power. This usually happens at the start of puberty for both races.

Incubus bones work as Seals for Succubus.

Senses:

Sight: Same, except they can see in absolute darkness.

Smell: 2 times.

Hearing: 3 times.

Touch: Same.

Taste: 1.5 times.

(34,-) Leaf Cat:

Leaf cats have two forms, a cat-like form and a bush-like form. They are extremely magical and wise creatures. They are loyal to their masters and scratch anything that annoys them in the slightest. Leaf cats generally have a poison similar to the leaves on their bush form. In the case of Mota (the marijuana leaf cat) he makes anyone he scratches high.

Senses:

Sight: 2 times. Sees best in low light conditions.

Smell: 2 times.

Hearing: 2.5 times.

Touch: -0.5 times.

Taste: -0.5 times.

(26,26) Nymph:

Nymph are forest spirits that resemble women. They usually have hair the color of autum leaves and green skin. If you burn a nymph they are reborn in the form of seeds. Nymphs can be anywhere from friendly to deadly and are considered to be faries. Musashi burns one in chapter 26.

Senses:

Sight: Same.

Smell: 3 times.

Hearing: Same.

Touch: 4 times.

Taste: Same.

(11,1) Succubus:

Succubus are an all female race (unless you count Youichi, then they have one man). They can suck the soul out of someone by being in the presence of that person. Succubus age until they are about 25 or so, then stop completely. It is unknown if Succubus have a mortal life span, but they certainly live an extremely long time. Lotem, who is considered fairly young, is over one million years old. Succubus cannot be affected by normal healing magics because of their nature as soul-eaters. In comparison to a human, Succubus are slower, but several times more powerful.

Succubus are creatures of ice and night, having lower-than-human body temperatures. All Succubus have the ability to Charm men, which allows them to lure in their food. Succubus only need to eat a soul once every three months, unless they have been working abnormal amounts of magic, then they need to eat more frequently. Growing Succubus require more frequent, but smaller amounts of souls. Succubus who's hair has not changed color yet, have large barriers to using magic which allows them only to use small, basic spells. Once their hair has changed color, it is a sign that they have 'grown into their power' and can use their magic without any barriers.

Succubus bones work as Seals for Incubus.

Senses:

Sight: Same, except they can see in absolute darkness.

Smell: 2 times.

Hearing: 3 times.

Touch: Same.

Taste: 1.5 times.

(22,35) Troll:

Trolls, believe it or not, are not humanoid in the slightest. Trolls come in a large range of sizes and are basically fluffy green balls no matter what the size. It is impossible to tell the gender of a Troll unless you are a Troll. In general Trolls are stupid, but insanely strong. The smaller ones are usually kept as pets (Malhavoc owned a Troll as a child).

Buzzle is a Troll.

Senses:

Sight: Trolls are blind.

Smell: 5 times.

Hearing: 2 times.

Touch: 3 times.

Taste: No one actually can know this because no one knows exactly what it is that Trolls eat.

**Terms:**

(22,27) Artifact: An artifact is a magical weapon of extreme powers. They chose when and where they are created and whom their creators are. Said creator is possessed by the artifact and crafts it to perfection. The creator often knows very little about how an artifact is supposed to be used. Artifacts come in two types: ones with masters and ones without. An artifact with a master is one that can only be used by that person (if someone else uses it there are dire consequences) and it selects a master and is somehow aware of the fact it needs a new master when the old one dies. An artifact without a master can be used by anyone, anytime, anywhere. Artifacts have bad habits of disappearing for several hundreds of years on end. They are generally nearly indestructible.

(3,31) Birth Blessings: A blessing is a positive enchantment (usually given without knowing or consent) to a person to aid them. In the case of both Zork and Youichi they both have two birth blessings. Zork has the following blessings 'May your Soul be only yours to Taint' and 'May you always Know the Way'. Youichi was given 'May your Soul be only yours to Taint' and 'May you always Know who You are'.

(34,35) Blood Seal: Is the use of blood as a Medium or as a Keystone in a shielding spell. Or a Seal that can only be broken using blood. These are generally more effective for Escarmelin because their blood already contains magic.

(11,19) Chanel: A Chanel person or object that allows someone to use their magic/magical powers more efficiently and thus amplifies them. The Keystone in Escarlaje serves as a Chanel for Malhavoc which allows him to use his magic freely in the Upground. Doburoku lost his ability to use magic and gained the ability to Chanel powers for others.

(34,34) Curse: A curse is an enchantment put upon a person (usually against their will) to control or inhibit them in some way. Curses are not easily removed.

(17,17) Familiar: A familiar is a sprit that could not journey on into the afterlife because it had one last regret/duty to perform. The sprit then finds a Necromancer to bind it into a physical form again so that it can accomplish one last task. Necromancers usually do this at a price. Most of the time familiars take the form of pets. Cerberus is a familiar.

(1,2) Gateway: In the Upground, a Gateway is a place where the non-magical people can interact with the magical people. They are generally heavily warded and places where those with magic or are Sensitives can get training.

(28,28) Hand's While: A hand's while is a Ventish measurement of time. It's about an hour and a half. The term comes from the fact that a hand's while was measured by sticking a poll (one meter long) in the ground in front of the Royal Castle of Vent, then measuring how long it took the shadow to move one hand's width (the King's hand of course) from when the sun reaches it's peak on the equinox to whenever it finishes going past the King's hand. At night the Ventish measure time in the same way the rest of the Underground does, Candlemarks which are about half an hour.

(22,22) Hemlt: Hemlt is one of the truly fire-proof materials in existence.

(22,-) Hole: A Hole is a portal between the Underground and the Upground. These are often covered by white houses that have been boarded up.

(29,35) Keystone: A Keystone is a different than a Medium. A Keystone is put into place so that a spell doesn't fall apart and gets its name from the keystones that hold castle arches together. Keystones are permanent fixtures, while Mediums are not. Keystones are almost always some form of precious stone, though they are occasionally normal rocks.

(1,2) Mage: A human with the ability to use magic. In the Upground they have a system for classifying their powers. It goes like this:

E- Can do only very simple things, like keep clouds from opening up a down pour for two minutes.

D- Can do slightly more complicated things, like keep fire burning smoothly even if it is being rained on.

C- Can do some intermediate magic, like creating an anti-thief ward on their home. C-level and higher can use Mediums to power their spells. C-level mages usually marry non-mages and have Sensitive children.

B- Can do a great deal of intermediate magic, like creating anti-fire wards and putting out small forest fires. B-level mages usually marry other mages.

A- Can do some advanced magic, like silencing spells and simple illusions. A-level and higher don't usually need Mediums to help with their spells.

S- Can do a great deal of advanced magic, like creating Mediums. S-level mages are the only kind that can qualify for the position of Elder.

(2,2) Medium: A Medium is an object (can be anything from a bolt to a plastic cup to a branch) that has magic stored in it. It can be used to aid in the casting of spells.

(27,22) Melfin: A melfin is caused by having a lot of magic concentrated in one area which causes a rotting effect on the barrier between the Upground and the Underground. If a melfin is let alone long enough, it will create a large, permanent hole in the barrier. You can create a melfin in either the Upground or the Underground. It is the duty of the Chosen and the Envoy to make sure that the melfins are closed. If one chooses to travel through a melfin, you have no control where it will put you. The magic that caused a melfin was cast at the end of chapter 18.

(-,-) Mithril: A legendary metal that is both light and strong. Artifacts are often forged of mithril because it is easy to enchant.

(25,27) Old Words: The Old Words are a part of the first language spoken in the Underground. They are very powerful and linked to the existence of magic itself. There are Old Letters that accompany the Old Words, but few know of them. Malhavoc and Zork can use the Old Words for their magic (Zeke does not know any of the Old Words and therefore cannot).

(3,16) Part Human: Part human is a term for someone who is not completely human.

(25,25) Seal: A Seal is a physical object that with a little bit of magic is used to prevent someone from experiencing their senses, moving, and using magic.

(1,2) Sensitive: A human who has either magically-enhanced senses or magical powers that are not spells. Shin is a Sensitive with enhanced senses, in his case sight. Sena is a Sensitive with powers, in his case the ability to go seven leagues in one step.

(22,22) The Underground Underground:

The only 'advanced' technological thing in the Underground is the magical subway system. Apparently it once did not have brakes. This train can visit any train station in the Upground, but it's only to deposit passengers, never to take on. You cannot call it from the Upground. It will only go to certain stations if you have a good reason to be going there, or if you an allowed name.

(1,2) Ward: A ward is a protective spell that is put in place to prevent something from happening. For example there are anti-fire wards and anti-thief wards that protect a house from both.

(22,22) Youngling: The term youngling is used to refer to someone several centuries your junior. Malhavoc calls all humans younglings while Lotem calls Malhavoc a youngling. It usually implies inexperience or idiocy.

(-,31) Zombie: A zombie is an animated corpse that is under the control of a Necromancer. Depending on the power and care the Necromancer takes when making a zombie, it can have memory of all of the skills the person once had and proficiency like the person did.

**Artifacts/Magical Items:**

In Hidden almost all of the non-magical people have some form of magical item. A few people have artifacts. Here their powers are all explained. In this section there are two names in brackets. The first name is the master of the artifact (if applicable) and the second name is the person who is currently housing the weapon. In cases where this is the same person, there will be one name. If the item is such that it requires no master, there will only be one name in the brackets and dashes on either side of the name. Paranethesis carry the translation of the name if applicable.

(32,32) Akumetsu (Destroyer of Evil) [ Youichi ]: The first gun to be forged in the Underground. This weapon does not take bullets, but rather takes its master's energy, condenses it into a bullet and fires it. You can actively channel magic energy into this gun to create an amplified spell. Akumetsu can have things placed down its barrel and fired. Doing so will temporally give the object an added enchantment of the energy of the master. The concequences for using Akumetsu when you are not the user are rather nasty. The weapon will fire a small portion of your energy in exchange for sending a horrible force of foreighn energy into you. The result of having done so is much like having had minature bombs blow up inside of your body.

(31,-) Amukali (Birth, Death, and Rebirth) [ Zeke ]: Amukali is a halberd made from sacred objects. The wood for the poll was taken from Vezur (the first tree to ever grow in the Underground) and has the power of birth. The blade is ice from the water river Stix (the river of the dead). This ice is not cold to the touch though it can easily send your spirit into the afterlife, giving it the power of death. It is green in color and appears to be a small crystal most of the time, but it can turn into a large blade if needed. There is a small bit of mithril that attaches the blade to the poll; this metal symbolizes rebirth and has the corresponding powers. This weapon was forged to protect the Succubus royal family. As the family's Mancer, Zeke had a right to see if the weapon would take him as its master, and it did. The weapon enhances Zeke's Necromancy and is unbreakable.

(31,-) Bell of Stix [-Zeke-]: Bells are commonly used as Chanels in Necormancy. A Bell of Stix is one that was forged for the sake of Necromancy. Most of the time it appears not to make any noise when rang. This is because the Bell can usually only be heard by the dead. Skilled Necromancers can make it be heard by the living, which allows them to control the living's spirits. Zeke was given his Bell by his first teacher.

(22,-) Boots of Magma [-Musashi-]: These boots will turn any spell into a ball of magma by touching it. Kicking the magma ball makes it into a somewhat nasty projectile. These boots are a favorite of martial arts of the Underground.

(8,-) Cell of Strength [-Shin-]: Due to Shin's horrible track record with keeping electronic devices alive, Shin needs a pretty seriously warded cell phone. This phone can barely withstand Shin's attempts to accidentally destroy it.

(22,-) Cloak of Appearance [-Ishimaru-]: This cloak enhances the features of its wearer. This means if someone is sexy, it will make them look even sexier. It also enhances the person's presence as well. People with small presences, like Ishimaru, can appear invisible when wearing the cloak. Some call it the Deciver's Cloak because it fools others into thinking you are physically more than you actually are.

(29,29) Darts of Silence [-Malhavoc-]: Darts have traditionally been Malhavoc's choice of ranged weapon since they are small and discrete. These darts have a small enchanment on them that makes them impossible to detect with magic and completely silent in the air. Malhavoc chooses to pour various poisons on them, though not all are poisoned. Malhavoc keeps about 100 on his person at any given moment.

(22,27) Door-Sealer [-Komusubi-]: The Door-Sealer is a tower shield (a shield that is very tall and is just wide enough for a man to hide behind). The Door-Sealer is one of the oldest artificats and has two abilities. The first ability is it can create and shut doorways to the Underground, this include melfins. The second ability is to create indistructable walls. You have to be in an enclosed space to do the latter. Both abilities can be activated with the right Old Words. The Door-Sealer can only be used by someone without magic and with the knowledge of the Old Words.

(-,-) Einherjar (Lone Warrior) [ Elec ]: Einherjar is one of the Royal Artifacts of Vent (can only be used by members of the Royal Family). Since Elec carries a little royal blood from his mother, he can use this weapon without concequences. Einherjar is an axe that can cut through anything, including other artifacts. In fact, Escarlaje was one cut down by this weapon. It also has the ability to make anyone obey its weilder if that person is Ventish. There are other abilities, but Elec chooses not to use them.

(-,-) Envoy Badge [-Elec-]: Because Elec is a member of the Ventish royality, he cannot leave Vent without an Envoy Badge. Without an Envoy Badge Elec would be trapped by a physical barrier that prevents him from leaving the country. If this badge was removed from Elec's person he would be frozen and unable to move (including his heart and lungs) which is why Elec guards it with his life. This magical item only works for Ventish royals.

(29,29) Escarlaje (Shadow's Curse) [ Malhavoc ]: Escarlaje originally was a knife. Around the time it arrived in Vent for the first time it was reforged into an enormous sword. When the Escargait had a fight with the newly crowned King Olec of Vent (the first king of Vent), Escarlaje was broken by Einherjar. The Escargait, having lost, swore fedlity to King Olec and had Escarlaje reforged again into the dagger form we see it in today. Escarlaje is older than the Door-Sealer and has been in Malhavoc's family since before the foundation of Vent. Escarlaje typically picks the Escargait as its master, though there have been a few exceptions.

(22,34) Escarmelin Blood [-Malhavoc-] [-Zeke-] [-Elec-]: Escarmelin blood literally carries magic in it. The blood itself is a very powerful Medium and has many properties useful in the craft of potions and keystones. Escarmelin are hunted for their blood.

(22,-) Gloves of Holding [-Monta-]: Gloves of holding simply allow its wearer to grasp anything in them without concequence, no matter how hot, magical, or radioactive the object might be. Monta could potentially use this to hold elfin bones, but this application does not occur to anyone.

(-,-) Heremod (War Spirit) [ Zork, Zeke ]: Heremod in the Bow of the Dungeon Master. As Dalboz is now dead, the weapon is now Zork's. Unfortunately this bow is over 2 meters in length, which means that it is physically too large for Zork to use at this time. Heremod does not require arrows, like Akumetsu does not require bullets, but does require magic from its master. Heremod, unlike Akumetsu, appears to only fire one kind of arrow which is particularly distructive.

(-,-) Katars of Bleeding [-Kali-]: Katars are short, dubble sided blades that strap onto the back of one's wrist and around one's palm and are well known for being particularly hard to remove. The bleeding effect means that when these katars come into contact with blood, they start to vibrate rather violently, causing any wound to become exponetentially more severe. Kali is an expert at using these katars and doesn't appear to be affected much by their vibrating when she's slashing up an enemy.

(34,34) Rustless Sword [-Malhavoc-] [-Elec-]: Elec and Malhavoc both have non-artifact weapons in the form of swords. The only enchanment on these blades is a simple anti-rust charm that keeps them from rusting. Each person has a blade proportional to their body (as long as their legs), which means Malhavoc's sword is significantly shorter than Elec's. For most foes both will favor their rustless swords because they do not wish to deal with the concequences of having used an artifact improperly nor do they wish to reveal they have artifacts in their possession. And in Malhavoc's case he gets more range because he has a longer weapon.

(22,-) Shield of Destruction [-Kuroki-]: This shield apsorbs magic until it is full, it then discharges the magic in a large beam-like fashion, leaving a mass of destruction in its wake.

(22,-) Shield of Enduring [-Togano-]: This shield apsorbs all magic. After a while it needs to be emptied. One can empty the shield if they know the key word. Togano does not know this word.

(22,-) Shield of Mind [-Taki-]: Being hit by the spike on this shield allows the victim to temporally gain the weilder's intelligence. This shield is favored by idots with fighting instincts. Malhavoc finds these shields particularly annoying and wishes to destroy them when presented with the opportunity.

(22,-) Shield of Reflection [-Juumonji-]: A shield of reflection does just that, it reflects magical attacks and to some extent physical ones as well.

(34,34) Waking Plant [-Malhavoc-]: A small herb that smells so strongly it will wake just about anything, even the dead according to Zeke. It is toxic to humans.

(3,21) Youichi's Blood [-Youichi-]: Youichi's blood has some magic-apsorbing properties. Since the Deimon Football uniforms have traces of his blood on them, they can apsorb some of a magical attack.

**Old Words/Underground Terms/Spells:**

In Hidden a few magical words are mentioned (mainly by Underground characters). There are also Zork's funny nouns (that a majorty of the Underground people think are true). These words are defined here along with the defintions of names.

(17,17) Cerberus: A combination of Old Words meaning 'guardian of day skies' or 'guardian of lost spirits'.

(20,20) Dalboz: An Old Word combination meaning 'child of sky and fire'.

(27,27) Eilwran: An Old Word meaning 'door' and 'seal' at the same time. Eilwran is used mainly to shut magical portals, though it can be compounded with other words to create doors and tunnels.

(-,-) Elec: An Old Word meaning 'wise man'. Elec has mixed feelings about what his parents might have been trying to tell him when they gave him that name.

(29,29) Emlyn: An Old Word meaning 'survivor'. Emlyn was given this name because her mother was deathly ill when pregnant with Emlyn. Zeke didn't have to use any magic to save her, Emlyn survived on her own.

(29,29) Escar: An Old Word meaning 'shadow' and 'cursed'.

(-,-) Gait: An Old Word meaning 'lord', 'king', 'leader-person'.

(27,27) Givans: An Old Word meaning 'shut out' and 'stay in own body' at the same time. Givans can be used to keep your own soul in your body and for this reason is a favorite of Succubus and Incubus.

(22,22) Glamour: A glamour is a simple kind of illusion spell that makes people appear to be wearing clothes that they are in fact not wearing. Mamori uses this frequently to disguise the football uniforms everyone is wearing.

(-,-) Jero: Jero means 'good rising' in elfin. Elec greets people this way regardless of whether or not they may understand it.

(29,29) Laje: An Old Word meaning 'trapped' and 'permanate'.

(22,22) Lucifer: An combination of Old Words meaning 'strong mountain' or 'overly stubborn'. Fitting name considering how insanely stubborn the man was.

(11,11) Lotem: Is an elfin word meaning 'bush of golden flowers'. It is fairly common for Succubus to use elfin words when naming their children.

(22,22) Malhavoc: A combination of Old Words meaning 'dark counsil'. In this case dark means condictory side. This is a family name.

(34,34) Melin: An Old Word meaning 'lost children'.

(-,-) Olec: An Old Word meaning 'dude with shiny hat'. Most interpret this as 'king', Malhavoc chooses not to.

(-,35) Reanimate: A Necromancy spell that allows the caster to take a dead person's body and make it move again. Unlike a zombie, the reanimated body is completely mindless and an exact puppet of the Necromancer. The body and mind remember everything the person had. In the case of Malhavoc, if his body was reanimated it would be a deadly assassination tool under Blake's control.

(25,25) Rezrov: An Old Word meaning 'key' and 'lock' at the same time. This spell can be used to unlock any door.

(35,35)Urbzig: An Old Word meaning 'destory magic'. It does just that, gets rid of unwanted magic. It considered a dangerous word to compound.

(22,22) Vent: An Old Word meaning 'wind storm'. Vent does have vicous winds, so this isn't a completely random name.

(27,27) Vorzer: An Old Word meaning 'stuck' and 'shut'. Vorzer when said by itself can be used to lock doors, shut hatches, and arm traps. When combined with other words it can be used to create magical shields and Seals.

(3,3) Youichi: A combination of the Old Words 'youi' meaning sight and 'chi' meaning clear. In this combination it means 'a mind that sees clearly'.

(31,31) Zeke: An Old Word meaning 'leaf'. Zeke continueally curses his father for presenting him with such a lame name.

(17,17) Zork: An Old Word meaning 'Underground'.

**Positions/Titles:**

(-,-) Chosen: The Chosen is a person appointed by the Dungeon Master to work on relations with the Upground. The Chosen has a responsibly to make sure Upgrounders find their way home, close melfins, and the like. The current Chosen is Malhavoc.

(-,22) Dungeon Master: The Dungeon Master is the leader of the Underground. A Dungeon Master has special spells and are usually not related to the previous Dungeon Master. They are selected by the Underground via a birthmark (which looks like a little white house on their left shoulder blade). Those who carry this mark refer to themselves of being of 'the White House'. Dalboz, the current Dungeon Master is dead. Zork is the Apprentice Dungeon Master, which means he is in training to take up that position.

(5,9) Elder: Elders are the heads of the magical governments of the Upground. They are all S-level mages and are usually older and more experienced. They are not always sane or nice people.

(-,-) Escargait (literally Shadow's Lord): Escargait is the title of the leader of the Escarmelin and is also a head advisor to the monarch of Vent. In non-elfin languages they call the Escargait 'Shadowlord'. Malhavoc is the current Escargait.

(-,-) Grand General: Grand General is the title of the head of the Vent army. Elec is the current Grand General.

(,22) Havoc Weaker: A title given to Malhavoc by several different peoples in the Underground. It basically refers to someone who killed a lot of people by creating mass havoc like riots, cutting off food supplies and other forms of sabotage. It is from this title Malhavoc claims himself to be a mass-murder.

(6,9) Hunter: Hunters are the magic government equitant to a military/police force. The Hunters from Northern Europe where purple suits.

(31,31) [insert name here]-Mancer: Incubus and Succubus ally themselves with certain Necromancers to protect themselves from soul magics and to get healing. Zeke is the Mancer for Zork, Lotem, Youichi, and several others.

(31,31) Necromancer: A Necromancer is a magic user that specializes in the magic of the soul and death. Zeke and Blake are Necromancers.

**Bios:**

There are a lot of Original Characters in Hidden, here's a small bit of biographies about each one and how they are related to the other characters.

(23,25) Ayla: Ayla Pazzo is an orphan that was raised by the Elders of Northern Europe. She can read the minds of those she touches but she can only understand the minds of those who are human like her. Ayla knows a great deal about magical governments because she was raised by Elders.

Stats:

40-Yard Dash: 5.7s

Bench: 20 kg (44 lb)

Height: 170 cm (5' 7")

M-level: Not applicable.

(-,30) Blake: Blake is a half-incubus, half-elfin Necromancer. His birth date has been long forgotten by the Underground, but he's well over 600 years old. 320 years ago Blake used his Necromancy to enslave and take over almost all of the Underground. 300 years ago Blake was lured into the Upground (where his magic was weaker) and Sealed underneath Mt. Fuji. Vent had been one of the few countries to survive Blake's attacks completely unscathed, which is why Blake bares a grudge against Ventish people. Blake sees Zeke as a rival and desperately wants Malhavoc's body. Blake has no morals what so ever.

Stats (current form):

40-Yard Dash: 4.1s

Bench: 55 kg (120 lb)

Height: 178 cm (5' 10")

M-level: Somewhere insanely high above S-level.

(17,17) Cerberus: Cerberus, in life, was the father of Lotem and Emlyn. Upon his untimely death, Cerberus could not pass on out of worry for his newly born grandson. Zeke made him into a magicless dog-familiar (in Malhavoc's house much to everyone's chagrin). Zeke also preserved Cerberus' speed and strength from his original life.

Stats:

40-Yard Dash: 3.8s

Bench:

Height: 60 cm (2' 3")

M-level: Exactly 0.

(-,20) Dalboz: Dalboz is Zork's father and in life was the Dungeon Master. Dalboz was fairly young for an Incubus (only 800) at his time of death. He had only been Dungeon Master for 200 years before he was killed. Dalboz appointed Malhavoc as Chosen. Zeke is currently rebirthing him as a familiar of some sort for Zork.

Stats:

He's dead, he has no stats.

(-,-) Elec: Elec's full title goes something like this: Elec, son of Malhavoc, child of the Escarmelin, Grand General of Vent. Elec is Malhavoc's eldest son and Zeke's eldest nephew. Because of his resemblance to his father, he is often mistaken for him (especially because Elec is rather tall while Malhavoc is rather short). Elec is a Knight by profession and believes strongly in being chivalrous and good and lawful. Despite his difference in morals from his father, he loves the man dearly and would not trade him for anyone else. Elec is 425 years old and is married. He is currently expecting his first child. Another random note about Elec is that his mother is a halfelf, so he is therefore three quarters elf. This allows him to be strong and fast and tall.

Stats:

40-Yard Dash: 4.4s

Bench: 120 kg (264.5 lb)

Height: 188 cm (6' 2")

M-level: A+ Elec did not inert the magical strength of either of his parents.

(-,-) Elec's subordinates: Elec has 50 suborndinates present with him in the Upground. Most are either elfin or human. They have a range of skills, some are magic users, while others are just grunt fighters, while some are expert trackers. For the most part they choose to stay away from the main group because several of these 50 have a very real fear of Malhavoc. Elec is understanding with that matter and isn't offended that he has to use Kali as a messenger.

Stats:

Err…. They vary person to person and I'm not about to write up 50 stats.

(29,29) Emlyn: Emlyn of Ven Forest is Lotem's younger sister and therefore Zork and Youichi's aunt.

Stats:

40-Yard Dash: 5.7s That's right, Yukimitsu is faster than Emlyn.

Bench: 400 kg (882 lb)

Height: 173 cm (5' 8")

M-level: B+

(5,5) Genkei: Genkei is one of the Elders of the Eastern Ocean Isles. He's their unofficial leader and is an opportunist and somewhat of a jackass. Genkei is also the father of Zeki.

Stats:

40-Yard Dash: 5.5s

Bench: 55kg (121 lb)

Height: 175 cm (5' 9")

M-level: S

(-,-) Kali Shadowchaser: Kali isn't one of Elec's suborninates, in fact Kali isn't even from Vent. Kali is from Rune, a human country several leagues west of the Cross-Roads. Because of Malhavoc being at large, Elec was forced to recruit a high-calibur assassin. Kali is one of the few people in the Underground that rivials Malhavoc's skills as an assassin, in fact Malhavoc spent a good deal of time studying under her. Kali is considered the best human assassin in the Underground by many. She happens to like Malhavoc and his family and because of this is willing to help them out. Kali is actually fairly old and a grandmother. She has currently taken a potion of youth to keep herself physically young enough to complete this mission (mainly because Blake is involved and Kali is chosing not to take any unnessary risks). Kali's magic is simple, but effective. She uses minor spells to make her breathing and presence almost undetectable.

Stats:

40-Yard Dash: 4.2s

Bench: 70kg (154 lb)

Height: 157 cm (5' 2")

M-level: B+

(11,1) Lotem: The mother of Youichi and Zork and the daughter of Cerberus. She is the Queen of the Succubus and lives at Moon Mountain. Her relationship with Yuuya is nothing short of complicated.

Stats:

40-Yard Dash: 6.0s (about 4.8s if she uses her wings)

Bench: 455 kg (1003 lb)

Height: 178 cm (5' 10")

M-level: S+

(22,22) Malhavoc: Malhavoc is 709 years old and appears to have been given a lot of responsibility. He is the Escargait and has duties to advise his monarch and his people. He is also the Chosen which makes him have a responsibility to the Underground and the Upground. And Malhavoc is also the Havoc Weaker which means he bares the blame for several years of chaos and misery. Malhavoc is an assassin by trade and is not good or evil. He does have morals (but they are fairly warped) and holds to them very well. He is married (going on 498 years now) with four children, the eldest of which is Elec. On a side note, Malhavoc can speak most Upground languages, but he cannot read or write in any of them. Malhavoc, on the other hand, is completely literate in the Old Words and knows the entire Old Word language, including its name. Malhavoc is also literate in most Underground languages (all of which he can speak of course). The reason he knows so many languages comes from having too much spare time on his hands and not much to do. Malhavoc is only part of his name, the rest of it is kept secret to protect himself from curses. On a side note, Malhavoc's only living relative besides his children is his younger brother Zeke.

Stats:

40-Yard Dash: 4.0s.

Bench: 80 kg (176 lb)

Height: 140 cm (4' 7") He's shorter than Sena.

M-level: Well above S, but definitely not in the same league as Blake.

(13,30) O'Neil: O'Neil is one of the Elders of Northern Europe. Her specialties are getting her way and removing curses. O'Neil is Ayla's adoptive mother.

Stats:

40-Yard Dash: 6.4s (she never runs)

Bench: 15 kg (33 lb)

Height: 157 cm (5' 2")

M-level: S

(22,23) Rae: Rae is a normal human girl that was completely ignorant of the magical world until she accidentally walked right into it and fell onto Malhavoc's doorstep, literally. Rae, like any normal, sane person, is pretty freaked out by the series of experiences she has been having as of late.

Stats:

40-Yard Dash: 5.4s

Bench: 23 kg (51 lb)

Height: 168 cm (5' 6")

M-level: Not applicable.

(5,7) Tsubasa: Tsubasa is a teacher at Oujou High School and an Elder of the Eastern Ocean Isles. Tsubasa, like O'Neil, also specializes in curse removal. Tsubasa has been trying, vainly, to catch the affections of one Hiruma Yuuya; the latter refuses romance of any sort because of Lotem and his wife.

Stats:

40-Yard Dash: 5.7s

Bench: 20 kg (44 lb)

Height: 163 cm (5' 4")

M-level: S

(31,13) Zeke: Zeke's full title is this: Zeke of Vent, Necromancer of the Court of Crafts, son of Lucifer. Zeke is Malhavoc's younger brother and is 708 years old. Zeke is also a Necromancer that used to, like most Necromancers, be generally evil and unmoral. After a near death experience being beaten up by his sister-in-law, Zeke decided to change his ways and become a lawful, good kind of guy. Zeke is gay and currently without a boyfriend. Despite this his nephews and nieces adore him and find it amusing when Zeke decides to hit on someone in their presence (this is something he would never dare to do around his brother and sister-in-law). Zeke is the Mancer for Lotem, Emlyn, Dalboz, Cerberus, Youichi, Zork, and several others.

Stats:

40-Yard Dash: 3.9s

Bench: 40 kg (88 lb)

Height: 160 cm (5' 3")

M-level: Well above S, though not as powerful as Malhavoc.

(5,5) Zeki: Zeki is Genkei's daughter. She is adorable and extremely powerful for one as young as she is.

Stats:

40-Yard Dash: 4.7s

Bench: 10 kg (22 lb)

Height: 135 cm (4' 5")

M-level: A+ (plus meaning almost S)

(17,17) Zork: Zork is Youichi's half brother and Lotem's second son. He is also the son of Dalboz and the Apprentice Dungeon Master. Zork has not grown into his powers yet, but he can use the Old Words and do major spells despite this. Malhavoc believes this to be a sign that Zork is about to grow into his powers, Zeke believes this to be because Zork is insanely powerful, magically speaking. Zork was living with his father until the man met an untimely fate and was then sent to live with this grandfather, Cerberus, who chose to keep Zork a secret from Youichi. Zork literally sleeps in the Deimon Football Clubhouse at night for the few hours he does.

Stats:

40-Yard Dash: 4.5s

Bench: 25 kg (55 lb)

Height: 132 cm (4' 4")

M-level: Pointless to determine until he 'grows into his power'.

_=_=_=_=_

Don't worry, I'll be posting the next chapter shortly, this is just a reference for the readers to use and abuse.


	37. 36: Grand General Elec of Vent

Author's Note: I hope you liked the glossary, I had that all in my head and it took forever for me to sit down and find all the chapter references. Anyways, I hope you forgive me for posting that monstoristy and here's your real update! Oh and English is in italics.

The Story So Far: Our heroes have finally returned to Deimon! Right now they seek to close the melfin that was surely created on their football field. Malhavoc, due to blood loss and casting one too many spells, has managed to make himself completely delierious from magic loss.

Hidden

By: Bar-Ohki

Chapter 36: Grand General Elec of Vent

Komusubi led the others around to the football field. Oddly enough there was no longer a melfin present, instead a new person was there. This person was tall, a good six feet tall. Currently they were wearing full body armor that had been crafted out some black-looking metal. Upon their stubling over to the field the armored figure turned around and looked at them. It was hard to say what the gender was, but the person was pale skinned and purple eyed. They pulled off their helmet to reveal spiky black hair with random red streaks in it.

"E-eye!" Komusubi gasped. It was true, this guy did bare an insanely accurate resemblance to Malhavoc (if you over looked the purple eyes and height difference). He looked at the group and frowned slightly, clearly puzzled by something.

"Jero!" The unmistakably male voice called to the group. He then proceeded to make chattering noises in a language no one understood.

"Isn't that the language that Malhavoc was speaking earlier?" Mamori asked Musashi.

"I think so." Musashi answered truthfully. The man walked up to them quickly.

"Melhavic?" The man asked looking around with a heavily accented voice.

"He's back there and a little hysterical." Sena pointed behind them a little ways where Malhavoc was sitting on the ground making all sorts of strange chattering noises.

The man sighed walked over to Malhavoc and delivered a smooth chop into the back of Malhavoc's neck. Malhavoc simply fell over, limp and unconscious.

"Melhavic," the man began to explain, "erk foothar." He pointed to himself. "Mein Japaness big hit."

"…Your Japanese is atrocious." Zork observed. _"Do you speak English then?"_

_"Anglish? Aye, I speak tiny some."_ The man answered in English. _"Heavier English, much heavier."_ Big arm motions accompanied the words.

"His English is pretty bad too." Yukimitsu commented with a small sweat drop. "But it's a lot easier to understand than his Japanese."

_"Melhavic is me parent."_ The man explained again, but this time in English.

_"Who the hell are you then?"_ Hiruma demanded.

_"Elec tof Vent."_ Elec answered simply.

_"Wait! As in Grand General Elec of Vent?"_ Doburoku asked, amazed.

_"I no get."_ Elec admitted. _"Speaking spell, yes?"_

"Oh!" Mamori blushed, having completely forgotten about that spell. It was a fairly simple spell that allowed the person who had it cast on them to understand the words of the mother tongue of the caster. Without any waiting, Mamori quickly cast the spell on Elec.

"Fucking manager, what are you fucking doing?" Hiruma asked, his nose wiggling.

"Much better." Elec commented in perfect Japanese.

"L-language!" Komusubi gasped.

"Oh, I asked her to cast a speaking spell on me so that I could hold a proper conversation with everyone present." Elec explained to Komusubi with a small smile. "I'll introduce myself a bit more properly this time, I am Grand General Elec of Vent, son of Malhavoc."

"You're Malhavoc's son?" Musashi blinked, it did explain the resemblance, but it just seemed weird.

"I'm one of four children." Elec added with a bemused smile. "My height came from my mother's side of the family."

"Enough of that!" Tsubasa intrupted any further conversation, "why are you here!?"

"My father went into the Upground three days ago and we lost all contact with him almost immediately, so my mother sent me up here to figure out what sort of trouble he had gotten himself into. On my way over to the Underground Underground station, I heard of the rumor that Lady Lotem went missing and that the Half-Fire Necromancer had managed to losen his shackles more than a little bit. I then when to see the King about these matters and he told me that my uncle had also been missing for several days then ordered me to go to the Upground and get to the bottom of everything. I was walking by when I found the melfin and decided to close it." Elec spoke quickly and with enough authority no one interrupted him.

"Why'd you knock Malhavoc-san out?" Sena asked.

"He's suffering from magic loss and needs rest." Elec answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "He'll be up and at it again in about three Hand's Whiles."

"…How long is that?" Mamori asked Doburoku.

"About eight hours." Doburoku answered.

"That's right, you tell time with these 'hours' in the Upground." Elec muttered.

"Did you come alone?" Shin asked. He had been looking around for signs of other cursed people.

"Forest's Heart no!" Elec stared at Shin like he was the most ignorant person he had seen in his life. "I brought an entire Unit with me of course!"

"How many men is a Unit?" Tsubasa asked.

"50." Elec answered simply. "I sent them out scouting, we're going to rendez-vous over by the cloaked tower you human erected in another Hand's While."

"You sent 50 men out scouting?" Hiruma's eyebrows shot up in mild surprise.

"I need information on the enemy's movements if I am to compose any strategies at all." Elec huffed. "Now, perhaps the lot of you would be so kind as to tell me who you are and why my father has decided to follow you around?"

"How do I know you aren't deciving us?" Zork demanded.

"I could ask the same question of you." Elec pointed out.

"The information won't be free." Hiruma took charge with a small smirk on his lips. "You'll have to share with us everything your men learn."

"That is a price I am willing to pay." Elec nodded. Doburoku launched off on his explaination as to who everyone was, why they were there, and a shortened version of everything Malhavoc had imparted to them before he was knocked out.

"So you came here to close the melfin and to find out why Half-Fire took an interest in this place?" Elec summaried at the end. He was given a few nods in response.

"…I think he was trying to get some information on you, Hiruma." Elec guessed after a little thinking.

"The fuck?" Hiruma muttered, not having been expecting that.

"…The Underground is a world of balanence. There is an equal amount of good and evil, of strong and weak, everything hangs in a purposeful balance. If a half-Incubus, half-elf is born, there must be a creature of the opposite to counterbalance that existence." Elec was quick to explain. "You are a half-Succubus, half-human, the exact opposite of our current adversary in almost everyway."

"Almost?" Monta blurted out.

"Well it would have been exact if Hiruma had been born female, but that's beside the point." Elec answered. It was becoming painfully obvious how confusing and oblique Malhavoc had been with every answer Elec gave. Elec did not withhold any information at any time if he felt committed to give it.

"…So I was fucking born to counter this fucker's existence?" Hiruma hissed, clearly annoyed.

"Maybe a bit more than that as well." Elec trailed off as if he was thinking outloud. "Time will tell us that."

"Why did you just start being cryptic?" Juumonji demanded, clearly annoyed by this.

"Because I am my father's son whether or not I deny it." Elec answered with a small, frusterated sigh. "We should hurry back before my men decide I am missing."

"What will they have to tell us?" Mamori asked as everyone got into the bus.

"The radius of the enemy's influence, just how broken the wards are, and a rough estimate as to how many slaves he's managed to gather at this time." Elec answered as he hauled himself and his father's limp body onto the bus.

"Useful." Hiruma grunted, sort of demonstrating an approval.

"Who is the leader amongst your group?" Elec asked as he sat down.

"…Hiruma." Was the general answer.

"Mm." Elec nodded and proceeded to jump when the bus started.

"Are you okay?" Musashi asked before he began to drive.

"What's this rumbling?" Elec asked, looking particularly freaked out. "Are we in a belly?"

"Huh?" Kuroki muttered. "It's just a bus."

"…Is this your first time in the Upground?" Zork asked.

"…Yes." Elec admitted, his pointy ears going flat with embarrassment.

"The bus isn't alive, it can't eat you." Mamori assured Elec.

"…If you say so lady mage." Elec sat down and proceeded to look extremely uncomfortable for the rest of the trip. When they arrived outside the Elder's Headquarters, Elec all but jumped off the bus only to puke once he got onto the sidewalk.

"…They don't have anything like busses in Vent." Doburoku pointed out. "The poor kid has car sickness."

"Wow." Taki muttered and everyone else nodded in agreement.

A short, curvy woman clad in purple spandex-like clothes appeared to have come off the wall and rushed over to the vomiting Elec's side. She had amazing pink hair that was long enough to be tied back into a braid. She said a few things in that chattery elfin language, only to get a blank stare from Elec when he was finished upheaving. Elec then spoke to her quietly about something for several minutes.

"…What should we do about him?" Togano pointed to the unconicous Malhavoc.

"I have this feeling we shouldn't touch him." Juumonji muttered.

"Huh?" Kuroki stared a little at his friend.

"Malhavoc is an expert assassin," Zork pointed out, "he's probably been trained in such a way that he'll attack things that move him even when he's unconscious and tired."

"Elec will take care of him." Doburoku assured the others and got off the bus. With contented nods, the Huh brothers followed them as did the rest of the group. By this time Elec had managed to stop puking and was now drinking a bit of liquid out of a leather gourd.

"My thanks, Kali." Elec nodded to the woman after he had dranken a bit.

The woman only chuckled.

"I am told," the woman spoke with a soft, accented voice, "that the lot of you are to know the nessiaries concerning Blake."

No cloud of magic came to chase after her.

"Huh?" Togano muttered.

"I carry with me protection against names." The woman explained with another light chuckle. "I am Kali Shadowchaser, well met."

"You speak Japanese." Musashi observed, slightly surprised.

"Actually I am speaking the language of Amatsu, which happens to be enough similar to this Japanese for me to have a conversation." Kali corrected them.

"So what do you know?" Hiruma demanded.

"…You're that infamous half-Succubus." Kali observed quietly.

No one was really sure how to respond to that.

"I do not butt into another's fight, so have yourself little worry." Kali assured Hiruma. "This city is on the edge of Blake's influence. Every town between us and the mountain is under Blake's control. His first and most powerful minions are the ones that done white uniforms like that child's." Kali pointed at Sakuraba.

"We neutralized the curse in these two." Doburoku assured Kali quickly.

"Obviously, they wouldn't be unconscious otherwise." Kali rolled her eyes. "The curses Blake uses to keep his minons under control prevents them from falling unconscious no matter what the circumstances are."

"…So how do you free someone of the enemy's control?" Shin asked.

"You cut off the source." Kali answered.

"What she means is that you stop the enemy, the curse goes away." Elec answered.

"You sound like you deal with this kind of thing regularly." Doburoku observed.

"She's an assassin from Rune." Elec commented.

"I deal with this kind of thing almost at least once a year," Kali admitted, "usually on a much smaller scale of course."

"Damn, that fucker's got a lot of people under his control." Hiruma hissed, annoyed.

"Yes, but a majority of them are sitting around and doing nothing." Kali added. "Blake's mind is limited, he can get as many minions as he wants, but he doesn't have the mental capacity to give them all individual orders at once."

"Oh!" Mamori's eyes lit up slightly. "So as long as we avoid getting detected, we shouldn't have any issues getting to Mount Fuji."

"Exactly." Kali smiled. "Blake's control is extremely limited as well, of the minor minions anyways. They can only be given simple commands. The major minions are the ones we really have to worry about, since Blake can move them as he pleases."

"How many major minions does Blake have?" Elec asked.

"43." Shin answered.

"…Why do you know that?" Kali demanded.

"Shin-san is a member of the White Knights." Sena answered.

"White Knights?" Elec and Kali blinked.

"It's the name of my team, we have 46 people, well 47 if you count our coach." Shin answered.

"…I see." Kali nodded. "Well if the lot of you have found a way to neutralize the major minons then we shouldn't have much difficultly dealing with them should we encounter one."

"I am not doing that fucking thing again." Hiruma shook his head. "The fucker's magic makes me sick."

"Oh." Kali seemed to know enough about Hiruma's magic-eatting to figure out what that meant.

"Is there anything else, Kali?" Elec asked.

"…The wards are fairly intact, there's just a large crack in the place the Elders made." Kali announced. "But the rest of the wards are now strained and the flow of magic in and out of that crack is making it grow. We have a month at most before the entire thing completely collapses."

"Do you know the fate of Lotem?" Elec asked her.

"No." Kali admitted. "But we did sense some other presences inside the wards with Blake, Lotem could well be one of them."

"My thanks." Elec bowed his head slightly to her.

"Now what?" Monta asked.

"We plan an attack." Elec answered simply. "And wait for my father to wake up and my uncle to return."

"…We might as well go back inside the headquarters." Yukimitsu looked over the wall where the skyscraper was standing even if you could not see it.

"My men are out here and they probably don't want to go into that barrier." Elec protested slightly.

"Where are they?" Shin asked, looking around.

"Hidding from my father." Elec seemed a little ashamed of this.

"It's not unwise of them to fear your father." Kali pointed out with an amused snort.

"How are we going to get to Mount Fuji?" Yukimitsu asked. "It's a little far to just walk."

"…I don't think I can carry that many people with me…." Sena muttered.

"What if you were boosted by ten elfin mages?" Elec asked. "Do you think it possible if that were to happen?"

"Elfin mages!?" Sena squeaked.

"Oh please don't look that surprised, I'm an elf of Vent." Elec rolled his eyes. "Of course I'd have some elfin mages in my Unit."

"Who's in charge of this operation?" Kali asked Elec.

"Oh, Hiruma." Elec's words were casual.

"The hell?" Hiruma muttered, not having been expecting that answer.

"This is your land, your people, and your fight." Elec pointed out. "And you've been involved in this situation much longer than myself, I have no right to take your authority from you."

"Nor do I, nor does Malhavoc." Kali pointed out.

"A good general will recognize where his authority is needed." Elec continued. "Right now what you need is an advisor and knowledge of the enemy, these are things I can provide you with."

"Myself and Malhavoc can work as extra shields." Kali smiled. "And don't worry, I can convince that stubborn fool into doing it without complaint."

"Why would assassins be extra shields?" Juumonji was confused.

"It's very difficult to catch an assassin by surprise." Kali pointed out. "And we're awefully good at stabbing people fatally before they stab us."

"…Show me your plan, fucking general." Hiruma ordered Elec.

"With pleasure." Elec smiled and pulled out a roll of parchment.

_=_=_=_=_

What the hell is Elec thinking? Please review!


	38. 37: Dungeon Master Dalboz

Author's Note: Lack of reviews makes me cry.

The Story So Far: Hiruma Youichi is a half-human, half-Succubus with a Unit of the Ventish army and its head general at his command. Hiruma is also over seeing the actions of Kali and Malhavoc, two of the Underground's best assassins. On top of this Hiruma has his football playing comrades at his side in a fight to stop the Necromancer Blake. Right now they wait for Zeke to rejoin their group.

Replies for anonymous reviewers:

It's Ok- This is the closest thing to a flame I've had in sometime, though I understand your complaints. I don't personally feel as though I've made Hiruma into a weak character in this story, but I can see how you feel that way. Perhaps your opinion will change if you read the entire rest of the story to the up to date parts. Thank you for reviewing, I do really appreciate critique.

Weapon- What makes Hiruma such a doomsday weapon? Mainly that there's only one of him and his peroperties are unique. Now as for breeding another one of him, that's a particularly hard thing to ask. It'd be like asking some guy on the street to screw a cow to have a human-cow baby. If the cow was as smart as us, it'd probably _not_ want to be screwed by the human. That's why they don't breed another. And they aren't any assurances the creature won't turn out to be extremely corrupted like Blake did. I hope that answers your concerns and thank you for reviewing.

Hidden

By: Bar-Ohki

Chapter 37: Dungeon Master Dalboz

Elec rolled out his parchement where a detailed map of the Mount Fuji area had been drawn. There were several circles with notes written in some box-like language that Hiruma correctly assumed was Ventish Elfin around the mountain. These circles were colored and a detailed red break had been drawn on one of the sides of the circles.

"That's the hole in the barrier?" Hiruma pointed to the red crack.

"Aye." Elec nodded. "We're 19 leagues from the center of the seal."

"That's almost three steps…." Sena muttered.

"There are two basic approaches to the issue," Elec went on, "the first is that we could try to repair the barrier and the second is that we stop Half-Fire perminately."

"Perminately?" Musashi asked.

"Kill him." Kali answered simply.

"Or maim his magic perminately, that's always an opition, ya know." A male tenor remarked from about Elec's head.

"I suppose that would-" Elec cut himself off as he stared at the really stange-looking shadow that had fallen over the map. It looked like it belonged to a bat. Elec looked up and saw something he had only heard of, but never seen in person.

"Devil bat!" Elec gasped, staring at the flying red bat. It had pointy, horn-like ears, big green eyes and a fangy mouth that resembled a vicous dog. It also had taloned feet that resembled that of a hawk and a pointy devil-like tail. Currently it was flying slightly, using silent wing strokes.

"Ya-ha!" The devil bat quipped, its fangy mouth grinning. "Nice to see you again Elec-boy!"

"D-dalboz!?" Elec gasped, recalling the voice now.

"Dad?" Zork asked, staring at the creature in awe. Dalboz simply flew over and landed on Zork's head.

"Hello there son." Dalboz used one of his wings like a hand and scratched Zork behind the ear. Zork simply smiled and sighed contently.

"Elec!" Zeke walked up, staring down at his nephew in mild surprise. "How'd you manage to leave Vent?"

"I have an Envoy's Badge." Elec answered curtly.

"They exist?" Togano muttered, rather confused by the appearance of the devil bat.

"It looks just like our mascot!" Mamori whispered loudly.

"Now, now lady, my name is Dalboz, not 'it'. And if it helps you at all I am very much male." Dalboz rolled his eyes at Mamori. "Now that the pleasantries are over and done with, we've got a Necromancer to deal with."

"You're not wasting any time." Hiruma observed, having already managed to recover from the fact the imaginary creature he thought he had come up with was right there before him.

"You're pretty high spirited." Kurita observed.

"I had Zeke here suppress my memories right before my death." Dalboz explained quickly. "Apparently I'm a no-fun acidic bastard with 'em, so I'm better off without."

"He's like Suzuna." Monta muttered.

"Dalboz, why don't you take a look at this map?" Elec suggested, knowing full well that Dalboz was easily distractable.

"Who's in charge here?" Dalboz asked as he finished his short flight over to the map.

"Hiruma here is." Elec guestured to Hiruma.

"Youichi? Damn, you've gotten big!" Dalboz commented with a chuckle. "The last time I saw you were this little, feisty baby."

"Feisty baby?" The Huh brothers exchanged looks.

"Oh yes!" Dalboz exclaimed. "You bit me a least four times when I first held you."

"Dad!" Zork gasped, somewhat morified for some reason. "Aren't we here for something else!?"

"Malhavoc's resting in that Upground transmech over there." Kali pointed at the bus.

"Transmech?" Juumonji muttered.

"More weird nouns…." Kuroki muttered.

"Underground people are all strange." Togano finished.

"…The barrier's beyond saving." Dalboz had gotten somewhat serious and had a good look at the map Elec had brought. "We used the Elder's portion as a Keystone for the entire spell because their magic wasn't hindered."

"…He cracked a hole in the Keystone of the barrier?" Hiruma was unsettled by the notion.

"The keystone that keeps a church upright is no stonger than any other stone." Dalboz pointed out wisely. "What matters is that the general shape remains, which it currently is."

"How long?" Elec asked.

"Days." Dalboz sighed. "…Say is there an Elder around here?"

"That'd be me." Tsubasa stepped forward.

"Are you connected to the barrier?" Dalboz asked and got a nod. "How bad is it?"

"…I can't feel it that well, but I don't think it will be able to break completely without me." Tsubasa explained. "The barrier got significantly weaker everytime the enemy captured one of the Elders."

"Blood magic!" Zeke gasped. "Of course Blake would."

"Blood magic!?" Elec paled.

"Huh?"

"He's using the blood of the Elders as a Medium to destroy their part barrier." Zeke clarified. "He's probably got plans to use Lotem's blood as a means to control Youichi."

"That's horrible!" Mamori gasped.

"Blake isn't a good person." Dalboz remarked dryly. "He was abused and hated a majority of his life and for that reason has turned into a very bitter person."

"On top of that he partakes in extremely corruptive magics that schews any emotion or thought into something extremely horrible and morally corrupt." Zeke added gravely.

"…You seem to be well versed in this corruption." Kali remarked causually, making Zeke jerk.

"I've had my share of fights with it, yes." Zeke left it at that.

"Back at the matter at hand, we've got to get to Blake and stop him perminately." Dalboz continued to study the map. "Our first issue is getting through what remains of the barrier."

"Eh?" Sena blinked. "But didn't you make it?"

"The moment I died I lost all ties to any spells I had cast in life, those are ties I can never regain." Dalboz told Sena flatly. "And it is not within Zeke's power to allow for free passage within that barrier."

"Huh?"

"It's how magic works." Doburoku explained. "If you cast a ward and then you die, the ward will remain until it runs out of power."

"For some wards and barriers, the powering can be sent onto a descendant," Zeke added with a nod, "that was the case with everyone involved with Half-Fire's barrier."

"In other words, Zork is the one in control of my portion of the barrier!" Dalboz announced with a fangy grin.

"Me!?" Zork gasped, stunned by the notion.

"Why do you think you're so powerful even though your magic hasn't awaked properly yet?" Dalboz countered easily. "That's because your body's been trying to uphold my portion of the barrier and forced itself to become stronger."

"…That explains it then." Zeke muttered. Zork's insane magical growth had been bothering Zeke for sometime. "You'll probably grow into your magic earily then."

"But-!" Zork protested.

"No buts kiddo, this is reality." Kali pointed out simply.

"Of course you have no control over it," Dalboz sighed, "your magic is just maintaining all the things I asked of it and no more."

"…Is there a way to get Zork to control it?" Elec asked.

"Not until he grows into his power." Dalboz shook his head.

"…I could accelerate that process." Zeke confessed.

"You will do no such thing." Kali told Zeke firmly, her green eyes producing a nasty glare.

"It may have to come to that." Dalboz told Kali darkly. "The issue is that the barrier prevents anything from moving within it, that includes ourselves and the enemy."

"And altering the barrier to allow us through will probably allow Blake movement, or in the very worst case, collapse the entire thing." Zeke added. "I'm afraid those are not good alternatives."

"You had control over your part of the barrier, right?" Hiruma asked Zeke and Tsubasa. Both adults nodded slowly. "Why don't you extend your part to allow us through?"

Zeke said nothing and instead went into deep thought. Tsubasa simply shook her head.

"It's not my expertise." Tsubasa admitted.

"From what I can gather, Sena can get all of us to the edge of the barrier without trouble," Elec began to summarize while Zeke continued to think, "once there we have to get inside to confront Blake personally, which leads us to have three issues."

"Three?" Kali asked.

"First issue is concerning moving around inside the barrier. The second issue would be dealing with whatever the enemy has left as a defense. I happen to know he's got a few of his major minions running around in the area, I strongly believe they are his last stronghold of defense." Elec explained. "The last issue is how exactly we go about periminately stoping the enemy. …Does this agree with you?" The last statement was directed at Hiruma.

"What?" Hiruma stared at Elec, not too sure why the elf had asked that.

"You're the leader here, not me." Elec reminded Hiruma with an annoyed look. "Which is why you must tell me if I need to be considering other thing or not."

"I don't fucking know if you're missing anything." Hiruma admitted. "I don't even fucking know what kind of things you have in your 'Unit'."

"50 persons total. 10 elfin mages, 10 human archers, and 30 infiltry knights, a mix of human and elfin, all of which specialize in dealing with magical foes." Elec answered simply. "Kali here is a hired assassin whose job is to help me find my father."

"But now that Malhavoc has been found, I have decided to work for you, kiddo." Kali smirked slightly. "We'll discuss my payment later."

"Huh?" Huh!?" Huuh!?!"

"You'll take information, right?" Hiruma asked and got a nod. "Good."

"I don't have a specialization as far assassinations go," Kali admitted, "despite that I am an S-rank assassin of Rune."

"S-rank?" Yukimitsu asked.

"Elite rank." Kali explained. "I'm a Jack-Of-All-Traits Elite Assassin of Rune."

"Useful." Dalboz commented. "I'm fairly sure Elec's got all of the issues at hand covered."

"…I can." Zeke said suddenly. "It can be done."

"What?"

"I can merge my part of the barrier with Dalboz's and allow movement." Zeke explained.

"The price?" Dalboz asked.

"I'd have to power both portions." Zeke admitted. "But a simple support channel from those mages under Elec will keep that from being an issue."

"Sounds fine enough." Hiruma nodded.

"Not quiet, Zork'll probably have a rush of uncontrolled magic power if we do that." Dalboz shook his body (since his head was mostly his body).

"I'll handle it." Zork assured his father.

"The next issue is the minions and the traps." Kali continued without missing a beat. "How did you take care of the minions you've encountered so far?"

"Malhavoc killed 75 of them." Kurita answered with a shiver. "Tsubasa-san and Hiruma managed to get Sakuraba's curse off of him."

"Takami we think touched some of Hiruma's blood on the door-" Musashi provided when Kali cut him off.

"Your blood has magic-absorbing properties?" Kali asked Hiruma pointedly.

"I guess." Hiruma shook his head.

"It does." Zeke assured Kali.

"If I had some of that, I could turn it into a poision that ate curses without too much trouble." Kali smiled. "Non-fatal and with little side-effects."

"…I still have a majority of the batch the Elders took from you." Zeke confessed. "Do you want me to give it to Kali?"

"…Yes." Hiruma decided after a minute.

"Here." Zeke pulled out a small flask with red liquid inside. Kali held it up and looked at it.

"This bottle is contorting space, no?" Kali observed.

"Yes."

"It'll take me several hours to make it." Kali admitted. "And I need equipement…."

"I can provide you with that." Tsubasa assured Kali.

"We're not going to do anything until my dad wakes up again anyways." Elec assured them. "He needs at least six, maybe 7 hand's whiles until he has enough magic to move around again."

"Then I'll toil over that until he wakes." Kali nodded.

"That leaves the issue of Blake himself." Zeke observed. "…Have you tested Akumetsu on mages yet?"

"What!?" Hiruma stared at Zeke like he had grown another head.

"You have to know what Akumetsu does to a mage." Zeke pointed out. "If it does something useful, we'll use that."

"And if not?" Kali asked.

"I'm not opposed to killing him, but I would have to take measures to make sure he stayed dead…. I'm not sure I'd win that fight." Zeke admitted. "Necromancers are ferce beasts when in spirit form."

"…If it comes to that, Hiruma-san could eat his magic out of him." Shin pointed out.

"…I could." Hiruma admitted, grimacing at the thought of eating more of Blake's magic.

"…I think we all need to get some rest." Dalboz announced. "We have enough time and everyone here needs to be at their fullest when we strike."

"Yeah." Elec stood up and wistled. Out of every hiding place imaginable, 50 people, men and women, elf and human, clothed in blue armor came into view.

"That's your fucking Unit?" Hiruma asked.

"Yeah." Elec waved them over. "They'll follow me into the barrier."

"Very well then." Tsubasa got back on the bus and everyone passed into the barrier and into the Elder's headquarters without any trouble. Kali offered sleeping draughts to anyone who thought they'd have issues getting some sleep. Yukimitsu took one. Other than that, everyone was left to their own devices until Malhavoc woke back up.

"Well Zork, looks like you'll be getting a lesson in magic instead." Dalboz announced as he flew just behind Zork's head.

"Okay." Zork nodded. "We're going to be okay?"

"Elec's working with Shin on every possible way the major minions might attack." Dalboz remarked. "And Kali's making her poison. I think Malhavoc will check over it before we leave."

"That's true." Zork nodded.

"And I'm sure Zeke and Youichi will discover many things about Akumetsu, hopefully enough." Dalboz sighed. "You never can tell with artifacts."

"Mm." Zork nodded.

"We'll be okay though." Dalboz grinned. "We've got several advantages over the enemy."

"But are they enough?"

"They have to be." Dalboz answered. "And therefore, they will be."

_=_=_=_=_

Dalboz is a character isn't he? I hope you like.


	39. 38: Takami of Oujou

Author's Note: Nothing to say here. Enjoy the update and please review.

The Story So Far: Grand General Elec saw three issues with their attack on Blake, all of which seemed to have been solved except one: how the heck are they going to take him out? Hiruma is training with Zeke, Zork with Dalboz, Kali's slaving over poisons, and Malhavoc is sleeping. Most everyone else is busying themselves with pointless things to pass the time.

Hidden

By: Bar-Ohki

Chapter 38: Takami of Oujou

Between the unconscious Takami and Sakuraba, Takami was the first one to wake. When he came to he found himself in an unfamiliar room with and old man with pointy ears. The old man was wearing some strange, medieval blue armor and looked rather bored.

"Awake now?" The old man asked.

"W-what happened?" Takami couldn't remember anything, his memory was so fuzzy.

"I was hoping you could tell me." The old man sighed a little. "You were captured by a very horrible person and put under his complete control."

"...Who are you and where am I?" Takami asked after a moment.

"I'm Ronic, a mage under the command of Grand General Elec Fumaescar of Vent." Ronic introduced himself. "And before you ask, I am not human, I am an elf."

"Elves exist?" Takami blinked slowly, carefully digesting the information.

"Yes, we do." Ronic chuckled. "As does magic."

"Magic!?" Takami gasped.

"I suppose I could humor you with an explaination of your world and all the parts you've been missing." Ronic remarked after a little thought. He launched into a quick explaination of the Upground, Underground, Blake (without actually saying his name), and what had approximately happened to Takami and the rest of the members of Oujou.

"I see." Takami nodded, still having a great deal of difficultly believing everything the old elf had told him.

"Now, would you humor me by telling me everything you recall last?" Ronic asked.

"Well, it'd been a fairly normal practice, except that Shin was missing." Takami began. "Some woman showed up and had to talk to Shoji about something."

"A woman?" Ronic was curious.

"I don't know, she just gave me bad vibes." Takami shook his head. "After talking to her Shoji announced that we were going to go on a long run. That run led us to the side of Mount Fuji that felt really weird."

"Okay." Ronic nodded, taking more from Takami's words than Takami was telling.

"The air tingled a little and I felt like I'd been pushed out of my own body…." Takami shivered at the recollection of the sensation. "I don't really recall much after that, everything was a blurr."

"That's probably for the best." Ronic nodded gravely. "That was when our enemy had you under his spell, if you are curious."

"…Well I do faintly recall the world coming kind of back into focus…." Takami admitted. "I was outside Deimon's clubhouse and there was a burning on the hand I was using to hold onto the door. Some liquid, I think it might have been acid…."

"Acid?" Ronic blinked, not familiar with the word.

"You don't know what acid is?" Takami was stunned.

"I was recently told that a dinglebon was in fact properly called a 'doorbell'." Ronic shrugged. "I might know what this 'acid' is, but under another name."

"It's a chemical that eats other substances." Takami explained, only getting a blank stare from Ronic.

"I don't know alchemy, you should talk to someone else." Ronic simply shook his head. "I happen to know the liquid you felt beneath your hand was blood."

"Blood!?" Takami gasped.

"Belonging to the Half-Ice child." Ronic nodded.

"Wait! Didn't you say that Half-Fire was that Necromancer that was half-Incubus, half-elf?" Takami asked and pressed on before Ronic could answer. "There's a half-Succubus, half-elf running around?"

"Half-human, half-Succubus." Ronic corrected. "I am told by him that the two of you are already aquainted."

"I know him?" Takami was slightly upset by the notion.

"It is not my place to say his name, he has not given me the right." Ronic admitted. "But if you like, I can take you to him."

"I would like that very much." Takami got off the bed and followed Ronic out of the room.

"We're in the Headquarters of the Elders." Ronic remarked as the walked down the halls.

"Ronic!" A voice called from behind them. They both turned around to see Elec standing there in his armor.

"Grand General!" Ronic stood at attention quickly.

"…Did you find anything?" Elec asked quickly.

"Only that our suspicons were true." Ronic answered.

"Thank you." Elec nodded to Ronic then turned to Takami. "Jero lad."

"Umm… hello?" Takamit wasn't quite sure what the tall elf ment by 'jero'.

"It is nice to meet you awake, Takami of Oujou." Elec smiled. "I am Elec of Vent."

"Nice to meet you, General." Takami nodded and bowed slightly. Elec only let out a small laugh.

"Please do not bow," Elec requested, "I am not your royality."

"You're royality!?" Takami gasped.

"In the sense that my mother was the daughter of a prince, yes." Elec explained with a smile. "But I am distracting you from your journey, so perhaps I shall accompany you for a moment if we continue to speak to one another?"

"Actually, sir, I was wondering if you could take us to where Half-Ice is?" Ronic asked. "I am not sure exactly where he is at the moment…."

"He is training with Lord Zeke." Elec answered. "Come, I will take you." Elec quickly marched down the hallway, not waiting to see if the other two were following. Takami followed right up behind Elec.

"Who is this Half-Ice?" Takamai asked Elec.

"Ah, Youichi of Moon Mountain." Elec answered. Unfortunately for Takami he did not recall was Hiruma's first name was and gave Ronic a look.

"I do not recall meeting a Youichi of Moon Moutain." Takami told Ronic blandly.

"No, you do know him." Elec assured Takami. "In fact, he considers you a good rival and peer in the realm of football if what Shin said was true."

"Shin!?" Takami gasped. "Shin is here!?"

"He's sleeping at this time." Elec informed Takami curtly. "As are most of his compainions."

"Companions?" Takami frowned.

"The men of Deimon." Elec answered quickly as he stopped in front of a door that just appeared on the wall. Elec knocked four times and opened it.

"Ah, good timing Elec!" Zeke cried joyously. "Would you mind generating a simple shield spell?"

"…What would you be using it for?" Elec asked, eyeing Zeke wearily.

"You're just like your mother." Zeke muttered. "Always being suspicious of me."

"Well the first time I met you, you did try to kill me." Elec pointed out offhandedly.

"Well, we'd be testing what Akumetsu does to your shield." Zeke explained.

"I won't be standing behind it then." Elec told Zeke with a tone that left no room for argument. "But that will wait until Takami has spoken to your pupil." And with that Elec pushed the door open the rest of the way. Takami found himself staring at a Hiruma Youichi holding a gun of a brand he didn't recognize. To top that off Hiruma was wearing some medieval era-looking garb. Hiruma simply quirked an eyebrow at Takami.

"…Ronic here told me you were a half-Succubus." Takami explained, startled to think that Hiruma of all the people he knew wouldn't be human.

"And Ronic didn't lie to you, fucking glasses." Hiruma answered simply. "Did he bother to explain the whole fucking Underground shit to you?"

"Er, yes." Takami couldn't help but to nod.

"…Looks like your men aren't complete idiots, fucking General." Hiruma addressed Elec, who in turn rolled his eyes.

"The men I brought with me are considered intelligent by most." Elec reminded Hiruma simply. "Now let us finish your exercises."

Hiruma sniffed the air. In the time he had been training his magic with Zeke he had learned how to smell where magic was coming from. It wasn't the best skill Hiruma had by any means, but at least he could tell it was from his left or right. Elec had a very small-scented magic, which made it extra hard for Hiruma to find, but he did find it in the end. Without anymore waiting Hiruma pointed and aimed Akumetsu at the magic and fired.

Takami watched as the air exploded slightly, rushed back in and left a small blue cube on the floor. He simply blinked then turned back to Hiruma who looked tired and sweaty, as if he had just played a football game. Takami then turned to Elec who also looked tired and sweaty.

"…It kept on taking magic until I cut myself off from the spell." Elec remarked.

"Good." Zeke smiled, relieved about something. "I say we stop for a bit."

"…And do fucking what?" Hiruma asked Zeke.

"In your case, eat." Zeke told Hiruma. "In my case, make notes and plan another lesson."

"Tch." Hiruma put Akumetsu away.

"…Hiruma, could you tell me what happened to Shin?" Takami asked as Hiruma walked over to them.

"…Fine." Hiruma explained, with several swear words, about his kidnapping, why Shin had been selected to help with the rescue, and how he got caught up with all the shit that was currently happening.

"No one's been saying the enemy's name." Takami observed.

"Because fucking saying it sends some of his fucking magic over this way." Hiruma answered gruffly.

"…I had no idea Tsubasa-sensei was an Elder." Takami ran a hand through his hair.

"I had no idea I was a fucking Succubus prince." Hiruma snorted, annoyed. "Or that a fucking General would put me in charge."

"You're in charge!?" Takami gasped.

"Fucking General says I am." Hiruma explained. "And all the other Underground fuckers decided to agree with him."

"Damn!" Takami shook his head, not sure what to make of it.

"Hiruma!" A curt, female voice demanded from behind them. Both turned around to see a short woman with pink hair.

"Fucking assassin." Hiruma commented.

"Call me Kali or I'll run a katar through your thigh." Kali told Hiruma flatly, pulling out one of her katars to emphasis the point. Hiruma simply snorted.

"Who is she?" Takami asked.

"I am Kali Shadowchaser, assassin of Rune." Kali answered before Hiruma could make an introduction for her. "And the poison is done."

"Good." Hiruma nodded.

"…Who should I give it to?" Kali asked, realizing that Hiruma wouldn't know what sort of instruction she would want.

"…Ask fucking elf." Hiruma told her.

"Do you mean Malhavoc?" Kali asked, not familiar with Hiruma's nicknames for people.

"Him."

"Alright then." Kali nodded and stepped back, appearing to disappear into the wall. Hiruma and Takami shared a startled look.

"Is there anything else I need to know?" Takami asked.

"I have a fucking half brother." Hiruma remarked. "Named Zork."

"A half brother, huh?" Takami nodded. "…How the heck are you swallowing all this shit?"

"I can't do a fucking thing about it right now." Hiruma pointed out. "So I might as well take everything as fucking true until I know otherwise."

"I see." Takami nodded. "…Are you really going to fight this enemy guy?"

"He has my parents," Hiruma answered, "and the fucking parents of my teammates."

"Ah." Takami nodded.

"And almost all of your fucking team under his control." Hiruma added as an afterthought.

"…If there is anything I can do, let me know." Takami told Hiruma.

"I will." Hiruma nodded. "I fucking will."

_=_=_=_=_

Now Takami's on board, Hiruma and Zork have been getting training and in the next chapter we start the march against Blake! Review please!


	40. 39: Sakuraba of Oujou

Author's Note: As a personal goal, I am trying to finish this story before I get to chapter 50. Please wish me luck. On another random note, the story is 230 some odd pages in length on my word document. Sorry for the lateness. I'm entering week 10 out of 11 of school so please wish me luck.

The Story So Far: Hiruma has a small army assembled to take out this bad guy named Blake.

Hidden

By: Bar-Ohki

Chapter 39: Sakuraba of Oujou

Sakuraba woke to the most unpleasant sensation of having something land on his stomach.

"Elec! Coru setika boree!" [1] A harsh, male voice roared from it's position on Sakuraba's stomach.

"Ungh…." Sakuraba moaned.

"Sorry!" Elec called from his place across the room.

"Dammit Elec!" Malhavoc roared again, climbing off Sakuraba to go and storm over to his son. Sakuraba sat up and stared as the short man with spikey black hair appoarched the taller version of himself.

"I said-!" Elec began only to have Malhavoc grip his shirt and pull him down to his level.

"You do not throw me around. Ever." Malhavoc told Elec with a growl. "Is that clear my son?"

"Y-yes!" Elec squeaked. Malhavoc shoved him away, knocking Elec over.

"Oh, you're awake now." Malhavoc observed as he turned around. "I am Malhavoc and this twit here is my son Elec."

"You're the father!?" Sakuraba gasped. Malhavoc was smaller than the shorties from Deimon and Elec was easily as tall as himself; it made it a little hard to swallow. Sakuraba just now noticed Malhavoc's red eyes and Elec's purple ones, he couldn't help but to shiver.

"Aye." Malhavoc answered with a roll of the eyes. "We've been waiting for you to wake."

"What?" Sakuraba looked around the room. "Where am I?"

"Sakuraba!" Shin poked his head into the room and was pleasantly surprised to see his old comrade awake.

"Shin! Who are these people?!" Sakuraba asked the one person he knew would know what was going on.

"Allies, youngling, allies." Malhavoc answered. "Shin, you should inform him of all the happenings and the plan."

"Okay." Shin nodded. Malhavoc and Elec left and Shin began his explaination of the Underground, Upground, Hiruma's true heritage and all the chaos surrounding it, and the whole issue with Blake.

"So in an hour we're all leaving to go kill this Necromancer guy?" Sakuraba asked.

"If it comes to that, yes." Shin answered with a nod.

"…What does Takami think about all of this?" Sakuraba asked, having heard that his team captain was awake.

"He said he's willing to help." Shin answered.

"…Can I help too?" Sakuraba asked. "I don't want anyone else to be under that magic again…."

"You can." Shin nodded. "Come, we need to get you some armor."

"Armor!?" Sakuraba gasped as he stood up and followed Shin.

"Hiruma-shi's blood has some magic absorbing properties, so we wear clothes that have some of it on it to protect ourselves." Shin explained. "It should keep you from getting cursed again."

Sakuraba was a little disturbed by the fact that Hiruma's blood was centered around so much of the plans. He simply nodded and followed Shin out the door only to be asked to put on his football uniform. Notcing that the others from Deimon were also in their uniforms comforted Sakuraba. He saw that there were several men and women wearing blue armor looking at Elec and Hiruma intently.

"You should wear the clothes your mother left you." Another elf told Hiruma, this man Takami explained was Malhavoc's younger brother Zeke.

"When's the wife going to show up?" Sakuraba muttered.

"T won't be showing." Malhavoc remarked, not having turned around to answer Sakuraba.

"T?" Hiruma muttered, a bit baffled by that.

"It is what she likes to be called, yes." Malhavoc told everyone quickly. "Now my dear child, is your Unit completely ready?" The last comment was directed at Elec.

"Yes sir." Elec answered, standing at attention.

"I'm not attacting as your superior today, so cut the crap." Malhavoc almost growled at Elec.

"Let's fucking go." Hiruma announced and started walking outside without the small army. It did not take long for everyone to follow.

Once outside everyone gathered in a circle around Sena. The mages gathered in an inner circle with Doburoku who just touched Sena's back. Sakuraba felt a little silly holding hands with Musashi and Shin.

"Will this hurt?" Sakuraba asked.

"No, it's just startling." Musashi assured the wide reciver. Sena picked up his leg, light flashed, and then they were at the foot of Mount Fuji.

"Are we near where the two of you got attacked by the spell?" Elec asked Takami and Sakuraba quickly.

"I-" Takami began, "don't really remember where it was."

"…We're kind of close, it's a little that way I think." Sakuraba answered pointing to their left. With a nod a few of the blue armored men jumped back into the trees and dashed away from the slight.

"We'll wait until the scouts come back, then proceed." Elec announced. Several people nodded, including Hiruma. Hiruma had a hand on his nose and looked particularly perturbed by something really fowl smelling.

"It's all over the place…." Shin muttered referring to Blake's magic.

"…Worse than I thought." Zeke had his hand against some sort of invisible barrier.

"A lot worse." Dalboz agreed, still frowning.

"We move out." Elec announced suddenly and the group followed Sakuraba's direction to the front of a small cave. Zeke nodded and crouched down on the ground in front of the cave.

"I'll need an hour." Zeke announced. "I can have the barrier completely altered within that time." With that he brushed away a few leaves and started etching some circles into the ground with his spear. After he was done drawing he pulled a few crystals out of his coat and set them in specific places on the drawing and then sat down in the middle. Then there was no movement from the elf.

"Is he breathing?" Sakuraba asked, disturbed by the stillness of the elf.

"Necromancers don't have to partake in the needs of mortals if they don't want to." Malhavoc answered crypitically.

"He's not." Zork answered more directly. "But he won't die, so don't worry about it."

"We have company!" One of the blue armored soliders gasped and pointed at Otawara and Shogun. Several more of the White Knights came out from the trees, surrounding them.

"That's her!" Takami gasped, pointing at the lady who had led them into the cursing in the first place.

"…She isn't magical." Shin commented.

"That's because she's fucking hiding it." Hiruma winkled his nose.

"Let me try them." Kali stepped forward, two little knives in each hand.

"Wha-!?" Sakuraba gasped when Kali threw both blades without hesitation. They nicked Otawara and Shogun on the face. Both men started yelling and scratching at the new cuts. Shin observed that the green magic was literally burning away, but it wasn't being quick about it.

The woman only frowned and raised a hand in Kali's direction, preparing a magical attack.

"Slow acting?" Malhavoc frowned.

"You can't tell that until you use it." Kali sighed. "Would you mind doing something about the magic that woman's about to send my way?"

Malhavoc only smiled, dashed forward and grabbed Sakuraba then threw him in front of Kali as a human shield. The spell was sent by the time Sakuraba was in place. The woman didn't say anything but only looked at them, curious.

The enhanced football uniform did its job and absorbed the woman's spell.

"What the hell!?" Sena gasped. He knew how fast a 4.2 second dash was and what that looked like when it was ran, but Malhavoc had just surpassed it.

"Elves are not bound by the limits of a human body," Elec reminded Sena, "because they are not human."

"Now why don't you idiots with armor make yourselves useful and pin that woman down?" Malhavoc suggested as he pulled out some darts. "Me and Kali will take care of these 'White Knights'."

Sakuraba found himself being pushed forward to tackle the lady. Shin just dashed forward, not needing any help. The woman got spear tackled into a tree. Moments later the three brothers from the Deimon line were on her arms and legs, keeping her in check. During this time Malhavoc and Kali had manged to get some of the poison into the system of the rest of the White Knights team. Elec's Unit moved in and restrained the suffering members of the Knights.

"Who are you?" Malhavoc demanded, glaring down at the red haired woman.

"God will kill you all." The woman told him with a wry smile.

"…She's the one that weakened the Seal in the first place." Dalboz commented, annoyed. "Clearly she's got some sanity issues."

"She thinks our enemy is a god?" Sakuraba was slightly disgusted by the notion.

"There are some very deranged little isolated villages in Vent that worship me." Malhavoc shrugged. "It's no different."

"Please don't remind me." Elec rubbed his temples.

"Do you want me to interrogate her?" Kali asked Hiruma.

"How profitable do you think it will be?" Hiruma asked, eyeing the woman wearily.

"At best we'd know how the enemy came back into power and maybe a bit about where his current ablities are. At worst we'd find out just how messed up that woman is." Kali paused. "You don't like the idea of me torturing her."

Hiruma nodded once.

"I'll only do psychological damage, if I need physical torture, I'll call in Malhavoc." Kali smiled. "That's his specialty, not mine."

"…That's not particularly comforting." Suzuna muttered.

"I kill people for a living girlie," Kali reminded Suzuna, "you should find that a comfort."

"Comfort!?" Sakuraba gasped.

"Let me at her," Kali montioned the linemen to step aside, "you're not going to want to be apart of this."

"Wait-!" Shin began to protest when Sakuraba took off his jersey and dropped it on Kali's head.

"You should have that."

"…Thanks kiddo." Kali pulled on the jersey, grabbed the woman and disappeared into the trees.

"…What now?" Shin asked.

"We wait." Hiruma answered.

_=_=_=_=_

Ya, done.

[1] – This is Ventish elfin and translates something like this: Elec! That technique was improper!

And if you must know they were training. Malhavoc shouldn't have gone flying, that's why he was pissed.


	41. 40: Lotem, Succubus of the Underground

Author's Note: Final's week, that's good news. Means I'll have more time to update/finish this story.

The Story So Far: Hiruma, the rest of the Devil Bats, Sakuraba, Takami, and Shin of Oujou, along with a band of not-so-human people from the Underground have arrived at the foot of Mount Fuji to kill an evil Necromancer named Blake.

Hidden

By: Bar-Ohki

Chapter 40: Lotem, Succubus of the Underground

It hadn't been Blake himself that attacked her, it had been some minion. And that minion had overhelmed her with his speed, something she was sure Blake had given him to assure her capture. Not just her capture, but the capture of O'Neil, Yuuya, and all of the parents that had been present. Not to mention they had somehow managed to kill Malhavoc, that news perturbed her most.

After all Malhavoc was powerful enough to slaughter half of the population of Sun Mountain, seeing him on the ground like that, dead from severe wounds, it concerned her. She'd been taken across the land up the Upground and into some cave in the side of one of the large mountains. A little ways into the cave, when it started to get hard to move properly, there was a little room that had been cut from the rock.

The lot of them had been left in there. The room smelled of blood and there were already a few corpses on the floor, but no blood anywhere to be seen on the brown walls and floor. Then, with a frown, Lotem realized that there was blood all over the walls and floors because that was what was making it brown.

Most of the mothers sheirked at the sight of the corpses. Everyone was a little naucious at the sight of them because the smelled up something truly fowl.

"Are we going to die?" One of the mothers whispered loudly.

"It doesn't really matter," Yuuya muttered darkly, "we'll wind up _his_ slaves either way."

"Aren't those Elders of the Eastern Ocean Isles?" O'Neil asked, mortified at the discovery.

Yuuya only nodded in their low light situation. No more words passed between anyone, they just sat and awaited whatever fate had decided to play for them.

**-back with Hiruma and his lot-**

"That poison is really, really slow acitng." Takami remarked as he continued to watch Elec's men hold the other memebers of his team in place.

"…Hmm…." Kali was examining the bottle of the poison, a perplexed look on her face. "Normally it's not this slow…."

"Actually your poison is moving fairly fast," Shin explained, having been observing the progress for the last two hours, "there's just a lot for it to remove."

"Has been weakening?" Kali asked.

"Hmm… yes a little." Shin nodded after a few minutes of hard staring to confirm.

"I suppose another dose of it is in order then." Kali stood up and dabbed a little on the rather small, open wounds they had gotten earlier.

Zeke stood up suddenly, jerking into a coughing fit almost immediately upon standing.

"Zeke-mancer!" Zork gasped and rushed to Zeke's side. Malhavoc calmly walked up to his brother and smacked him on the back, hard. Zeke coughed twice more and glared at his brother.

"Don't complain if it works." Malhavoc rolled his eyes at Zeke.

"So you're done?" Hiruma asked.

"No." Zeke shook his head. "I need Zork for the last part."

"Makes sense." Dalboz nodded. "It won't take another boring Hand's While will it?"

"Moments." Zeke assured the little devil bat then beckoned Zork over. He grabbed Zork's hands and looked into the boys eyes carefully.

"This may sting." Zeke warned Zork and began. Zork winced, it didn't sting, it _hurt._ Then just when the pain reached almost intolerable levels, it was gone, leaving Zork feeling light and almost hyper.

Zeke on the other hand fell to one knee and shuddered under the new burden he had just placed upon himself. Dalboz had borne a rather large chunk of the barrier, Zeke realized now. Without any need for words, the magic users in Elec's Unit came up and channeled their power into Zeke.

"You're free to pass through now." Zeke announced, looking tired. "You've got probably two Hand's Whiles, so don't tally."

"Let's go." Hiruma waved his arm and started heading into the cave. The others screambled and followed him into the black, horrible cave in the side of Mount Fuji.

"So we're on a time limit…." Takami muttered as they continued their way in.

"No different than a fucking game." Hiruma reminded everyone.

"Why isn't Elec-san here?" Sena asked Malhavoc.

"Someone needs to stand guard over everyone that's outside," Malhavoc pointed out, "Elec might not be quiet the mass murderer I am, but he is highly capable of watching over his own men."

"I-I see…." Sena was left a bit wide-eyed by Malhavoc's words.

"I wonder…." Kali muttered when she saw the little opening to the side room in the path they were on. She casually poked her head and lamp inside, making the inhabitants of the room squeak in protest. This made Hiruma stop, along with everyone else, and turn around to see what Kali had discovered.

"Dowse that light you bloody, fucking ignorant child of Rune!" Lotem hissed loudly at Kali.

"Is that any way to treat your would-be rescuer, Lady Lotem?" Malhavoc asked with a small, bemused grin on his face.

"Oh be haunted by your own victims you fucking elf!" Lotem snapped at Malhavoc, still clearly annoyed about the light and his mocking tones.

"…So that's where he gets it." Togano muttered.

"…Funny how much they are alike." Kuroki agreed.

"…Makes you wonder about the father." Juumonji finished. The three brothers nodded.

"Please don't agrivate them!" The paniced voice of Kobayakawa Mihae came out of the room.

"Mom!" Sena gasped and used his golden legs to step right into the room (Kali and Malhavoc were kind of blocking the small enterance).

"Oh Sena!" Mihae sobbed, because of the magic of the Seal, she couldn't move over to where Sena was now standing.

"The barrier's holding them in place." Shin observed as he glanced over Malhavoc and Kali's heads into the room.

"I suppose we should haul them out before Lady Lotem rubs off on the lot them." Malhavoc remarked then stepped out of the way of the opening.

"You're making us do the work?" Musashi asked, frowning in disapproval.

"I'm the shortest person here, surely you're not thinking I should drag someone's beloved parent all the way to the exit? I can't carry those giants!"

"He'll be put to better use watching our backs." Kali called from inside the little room. Moments later she emgerged with Sena, both of them were carrying Mihae. Malhavoc stood guard before the rest of the tunnel, his eyes peering deeply into the near darkness. Monta and Komusubi went in next and fetched out Mamori's father. Shin and the there brothers went in next, carrying out Yukimitsu's mother, Shin's father, and Mamori's mother. Musashi went in next and managed to drag out Kurita's father close enough to the door so that Kurita could carry his own father home. Yukimitsu went in next and found himself carrying out an unfamiliar brown haired man.

"Ah, you are alive then." Doburoku remarked, sounding slightly releaved.

"Er…I don't think I can carry him the rest of the way out." Yukimitsu remarked as he was having some difficulty with the weight.

"Malhavoc, why don't you drag that bastard out?" Hiruma asked the elf as he pointed at the man.

"…I might not have always agreed with my sire, but I wouldn't have dragged him out of this hell hole." Malhavoc remarked. "So I wouldn't do the same to yours no matter how much you intend to tempt me, youngling."

"An Escarmelin with a sense of honor," Yuuya observed, "is the world coming to an end?"

"All people have a sense of honor," Malhavoc curtly reminded Yuuya, "that does not mean they follow them."

"Tch. Fine, lay him down." Hiruma ordered Yukimitsu. Yukimitsu obeyed, knowing better than to tempt Hiruma's patience. With a small grunt, Hiruma picked Yuuya up and hoisted him onto his shoulder then marched out of the cave behind the others. Takami and Sakuraba found themselves hauling a very vocal Lotem out.

"…You didn't leave me for dead." Yuuya commented as Hiruma continued with the bothersome task of hauling him out.

"Unlike you, I'm not a low enough bastard to do that." Hiruma answered with a half growl. "You're fucking fat by the way."

Elec came jogging down the tunnel with Sena and Kali at his heels.

"Aren't you supposed to be fucking watching your men?" Hiruma demanded.

"Some has to manhandle your mother." Elec replied as he ran by.

"Second trip for us." Kali told Hiruma as she and Sena ran on by.

"…4.2 seconds." Hiruma muttered, all three had the same speed.

"You'd think that elf would be running faster…." Yuuya commented only to get a glare from his son. A short while later they arrived at the opening of the cave where Hiruma shoved his father forward ungentily. Yuuya found himself stumbling and landing on the ground in a graceless sprawl. Not too long after that Elec, Sakuraba, and Takamai returned carrying the wiggling and angry-looking Lotem. They set her down and backed away promptly. All Lotem did was sit there for a few moments and take calming breaths.

"I'm going back in there to deal with the bastard," Hiruma told his mother calmly, "so don't kill that fucker until I get back."

"Youichi-!" Lotem began but a small bark from Cerberus silenced her.

"Just help watch over these people." Hiruma advised his mother.

"…Take care of yourself then." Lotem advised Hiruma back. Hiruma and the others went back into the cave, making sure that there was no one else in there but themselves and Blake.

"…Zeke-Mancer, do you think they will be okay?" Lotem asked Zeke.

"They'll figure something out." Zeke assured her gently.

"What's going on!?" Mihae demanded, having held in a complete panic fairly well until now. Elec sighed and explained to everyone what was happening.

"Aren't you worried?" Mihae asked Lotem after the explaination.

"Of course I am," Lotem admitted, "but it can't be helped either. I'm not useful against Necromancers, so it's just best that those who are going are going."

"At the point the best thing to do is to believe in them," Elec added, "besides, isn't that was parents are supposed to do?"

"I suppose it is all we can do." Mihae nodded.

_=_=_=_=_

Wheee! Done!


	42. 41: Blake of the Underground

Author's Note: …I think I may finish this in the next five chapters. I know that will make a few of you sad, but I've been working on this fic for almost half a year now and would like to move on to something else. So here we go, the begging of the end of the story.

The Story So Far: Parents and the like have been rescued, but now we must kick the ass of the evil Blake so we can all go home and sleep peacefully.

Hidden

By: Bar-Ohki

Chapter 41: Blake of the Underground

After a quick rendez-vous with Malhavoc, the party moved further into the tunnel. They walked for a good bit of time before they arrived at a large, black wall.

"He's on the other side." Shin remarked, squinting because the magic was so bright.

"The barrier's about to go…." Zork remarked, having paid especially good attention to the barrier's status this entire time.

"How do you suppose we get past the wall?" Yukimitsu asked.

"With a lock pick." Kali answered as she walked up to the wall and shined her little light on a small hole in the side of the otherwise flat wall. She handed Malhavoc a long, shiny bit of metal and Malhavoc simply set his ear to the wall, shut his eyes and started picking the lock. Within a few moments there was a loud 'cal-lack' and the wall began to fall down.

"There you go." Malhavoc smirked. Now that the wall was down there was a small room, lit in a sickly green light. In the center of the room was Blake, looking very much like a mummified corpse. No hair, all wrinkled skin and bones, and sunk eyes.

"Ew!" Mamori gasped, he smelled like a corpse too.

"…Some Necromancers choose to kill themselves to strengthen their powers," Zork explained, "he's one of them."

"Here goes nothing…." Hiruma muttered and pointed Akumetsu at Blake and moved to pull the trigger when the entire mountain shuddered once and Shin watched all the magic collapse. Blake's eyes opened and all the magic began to flow into him.

"Down!" Malhavoc yelled as he flung himself to the floor, the others followed, barely managing to avoid Blake's initial gush of offensive magic.

"...This is what they send to kill me?" Blake asked, his voice raspy and airy. "You think the Elders would show a little more spine…."

"Fuck you." Hiruma aimed Akumetsu again and pulled the trigger. Unfortunately there was a lot of magic in the air between Hiruma and Blake, so all the shot did was make a minor magic vaccum and that was quickly filled.

"What an adorable little artificat you managed to pick-" Blake was completely distracted by no longer having a head. Kali had moved across the room and cut Blake's head off when he was not paying attention. Kali jumped back and away immediately, knowing that was only a minor issue. Malhavoc lept to his feet and readied Escarlaje while Kali ran behind him.

"Ah, assassins." Blake sighed, as if he was remembering some plesant memory. "They are always so clever."

"You used holy-enchantments, right?" Malhavoc asked as the others slowly made their way to their feet.

"Of course." Kali assured Malhavoc.

"All faith starts in death," Blake began as his body moved and picked up his head, "that is why I am a holy being."

Kali threw her katars at Blake, stabbing them into his body with small 'squish' noises. Blake didn't seem to care, or even notice.

"What the hell?" Juumonji muttered.

"Does this guy have a weakeness?" Monta muttered.

"It'd be magical," Malhavoc warned the others, "because you can't kill a body that's already dead."

"I can't see it…" Shin muttered, having been looking.

"Like he'd show us." Hiruma growled.

"I think I'll take you first." Blake pointed a finger at Hiruma and the magic swarmed around him for a moment, then there was a loud snap. Blake feel backwards, his lower body rotting away.

"Huh?" Kuroki blinked.

"What'd you do!?" Juumonji demanded.

"Fucking nothing." Hiruma admitted.

"So this is his final retribution, hmm?" Blake asked from his position against the wall. "To send in his brother and his protogee?"

"Shut it." Malhavoc's hand flashed and seven darts embedded themselves into Blake.

"Poisoning my magic?" Blake asked. "You _are_ a clever one."

"Youngling, we need to damage magically and periminately," Malhavoc told Hiruma, "we are the only two with weapons capable of doing so, any thoughts?"

"I shoot him point blank." Hiruma answered.

"You have ten moments." Malhavoc pulled Escarlaje up into an arc and a small, but pointed red flash came out of it. Hiruma knew well enough and rushed forward, putting the gun right against Blake's forehead and firing.

There was a large exposion and those who did not hide behind shields were blown into the walls. Blake's body was still there, relatively unharmed as the only damage was a little black burnt spot had appeared in the middle of his forehead.

"The easiest way to defeat a chanel weapon is to over fill it." Blake laughed. "I'd be amazed if it still exi-"

Hiruma simply stood up, Akumetsu in his hand and unharmed. The air around Hiruma had gotten rather chilled. Hiruma himself seemed to have only taken minor damage from the explosion.

"Fucking shrimp packs more punch than you." Hiruma snorted, rolling his shoulders.

"You absorbed it, not a bad move." Blake observed. "But it won't be enough to stop me from doing this."

Suddenly Kali let out a screech and started to attack Hiruma with her bare hands. One punch in the vitals had Hiruma on the ground, caughing.

"An assassin of Rune, well trained and experienced…." Blake muttered. "Such a good minion."

"Oh shit…." Musashi muttered, realizing that every one of them could easily become Blake's next minions.

"Radnog!" Zork cired, write fire leaping into existence around him.

"An incubus?" Blake blinked once before the fire was upon him. It didn't burn his body, rather it burned some corpse Blake had summoned to protect himself. "What makes you think you could possibly beat me?"

"Musadex!" Mamori cried and Blake found what was left of his body breaking and exploding a lot.

"Annoying." Blake remarked. He set his eyes on her when Malhavoc did something distacting.

"Gihel-ooh!" Malhavoc cried, making a large pile of muscas suddenly appear around Blake.

"Why's he moving so slow?" Sena asked from his place behind Juumonji's shield.

"The barrier isn't down completely," Zork explained, "it's just in tatters."

"Do you have a better idea elf?" Hiruma asked Malhavoc.

"…Try focusing your power into your weapon and say 'tinaot'." Malhavoc suggested.

Not knowing what else to do, Hiruma obliged Malhavoc's whim. A purple bullet shot out of Akumetsu, touching the mucas and freezing it instantly. It also sucked in a great deal of the magic from the air into it.

"That should buy me time to deal with Kali!" Malhavoc cried as he attacked the other assassin. Kali whipped around and kicked at Malhavoc, trying to keep him as far from her as he could. During that fight Mamori collapsed.

"Mamori!" Togano gasped.

"She used an Old Word…." Zork muttered. "That was beyond her power and is paying for it."

"Is there anything we can do?" Takami asked.

"Get her out of here." Zork advised.

"…Okay." Sakuraba nodded and he and Takami carried Mamori out of the room.

"He's breaking it…." Shin muttered, still watching Blake.

"Drink!" Malhavoc snapped loudly, pouring a bit of Kali's own poison into her mouth. She let out a shriek and fell backwards in clear agony.

"What if we took that stuff in advance?" Yukimitsu asked as the thought struck him.

"I won't recommend it for the Sensitives…." Malhavoc threw the bottle to Monta, who caught it with ease. "But the rest of you should."

And Blake broke free.

"This is tiresome." Blake yawned and the ground rose up around him, then fell away, revealing a youthful looking man with red hair, black eyes and pointy ears. He was clothed in a green tunic and brown britches.

"Rebirthed your body, ne?" Malhavoc muttered, not really approving of the gesture.

"I had almost forgotten how to unwind my teacher's magic," Blake appologised with his smooth voice, "but I had you to remind me how it worked…."

"Teacher?" Monta and Musashi shared a confused look.

"…It's a real pitty I had such a good teacher." Blake went on. "Because he taught me everything he knew without a care."

"Not everything, Blake, never everything." Zeke remarked from behind them. He was leaning heavily on the side of the tunnel and panting.

"So you have come then?" Blake asked.

"Only to chase you into Death should that be needed." Zeke smiled and sunk to the floor, his body weak.

"Trying to hold these tatters to my body?" Blake laughed.

"I am no fool." Zeke said once, then shut his eyes and appeared to fall asleep.

"Oh fuck you." Hiruma muttered then shot the air around Blake several times, removing more and more of the man's magic from the air. Blake's eyes widened slightly and he frowned. He turned to manipulate Kali, only to realize she was no longer under his control.

"I see why that poison was made…." Blake observed then tried to posses Musashi. The kicker simply feel to one knee, looking like he was in some pain, but not intolerable amounts like Kali was. Hiruma kept on firing at the air, getting more and more exhausted as he continued.

"Let me know when you see a crack." Malhavoc asked Shin as he waited with Escarlaje at the ready.

"You don't have enough power to stop me." Blake observed as he continued to put the non-magical members of the Devil Bats into states of pain.

"What makes you say that?" Hiruma grinned like a maniac and started eating Blake's magic to restore his own.

"You-!" Blake gasped, completely startled by this.

"Badkeb!" Zork cried, sending a large green ball of magic at Blake. The Necromancer didn't have time to dodge or shield and found his body quickly growing older and more frail. His magic seemed to leak out of his body quicker when it got older.

"Sifmia." Blake remarked and three zombees came out of the ground and attacked Zork. The young incubus was fairly fast, but not enough to keep all three of them completely back. Juumonji, despite his pain, abandoned his shield and started to join in on the zombie fight. Kuroki and Togano did the same thing.

Zork fell back against another wall, panting from exhaustion and the wounds he got from the Zombies.

"Now to deal-" Blake was cut off when Hiruma shot the wall behind Blake, which still had a lot of free magic in it from the wards that had recently been standing, and it exploded. Half of Blake's arm had been caught up in the blast, disiniagrating it thoroughly.

"Clever." Blake only hissed, his eyes glowing red.

_=_=_=_=_=_

Here it is, the start of the final fight. I blame school for the lateness of this update and please review!


	43. 42: Youichi, Commander from Hell

Author's Note: Alright, since no one has really been reviewing I'm just drawing this story to a close. This is the second to last chapter, maybe third to last, we'll see.

The Story So Far: They are out to beat the final bad guy.

Hidden

By: Bar-Ohki

Chapter 42: Youichi, Commander from Hell

Kali might have been in agony and she might have been under the influence of a nasty curse, but her trained mind was still taking in information from the world around her. She might have had very little control over her physical self, but her mind still thought and it thought hard. Right now she was observing a change of color in Hiruma's skin. A change of color she typically associated with the consumption of fatal poisons. Whatever he was doing, he had to stop else it would kill himself…..

Now Kali's mind whirred about trying to find a way to communicate this thought. She recalled that there was a mind-reading sensitive somewhere in the party, so Kali decided to try and move her agonized form in that direction. It would take her a minute to cross the room.

Blake on the other hand, had decided to summon more undead. Everyone who had not been fighting recently was now tangling with a vile, undead creature of some kind. Malhavoc had been given five undead to deal with, undead elfin warrors, which was proving to be more than he could handle if his panting was anything to go by. Remarkably Blake left Zork, Zeke, and Kali alone. Instead, the Necromancer walked up and decided to physically engage Hiruma. Not having been expecting a physical confrontation, Hiruma found himself way out classed by his opponent. Blake had several centuries of combat experience and it was not hard for him to knock Akumetsu from Hiruma's hand.

Kali somehow managed to crash into Yukimitsu.

_**:: Blake is a poison for Hiruma, ::**_ Kali explained, _**:: Hiruma is a poison for Blake. ::**_

And then she passed out, her body having given up the fight.

Yukimitsu stared at the woman for a minute then realized what she had meant.

"Hiruma!" Yukimitsu called as he managed to duck under the hands of the zombie. "Shit!"

Blake was standing over Hiruma with a large, bone knife he summoned at some point. Hiruma had a black eye, bloody lip, and looked pretty mauled all things considered.

"Let's fin-" Blake made a guggle noise and crashed to the floor. New zombies arrived in the room, these ones were better clothed and seemed to be less rotted. They attacked Blake's zombies and quickly pined the other creatures to the ground.

Zeke hadn't moved much, he was just smiling. He opened his eyes slowly and looked at Blake's form with a tired smile.

"Like your new shackles?" Zeke asked with a smirk.

"Hiruma!" Yukimitsu rushed over to Hiruma's side. "Kali told me something."

"I'm fucking injured and you want to tell me something the fucking pink haired woman told you." Hiruma was not amused.

"His magic is poisoning you," Yukimitsu whispered so that Blake would hopefully not hear, "and your magic is poison to him."

"What?" Hiruma made a face.

"The Underground is a world of balance." Zeke reminded everyone in the room. "And here is your time to be balanced, Blake."

"Hmm." Hiruma thought about it while he walked over to pick up Akumetsu. He could shoot a bullet of his own magic directly into Blake, like he had done to restore Malhavoc earlier.

Blake, in the mean while, was jerking about, quickly destroying the new chains Zeke had put on him.

"Fucking elf," Hiruma began, "I want to run something by you."

"Be quick." Malhavoc eyed Blake wearily. Hiruma walked over and quickly explained his plan to Malhavoc quietly.

"Warp it in something he'll accept." Malhavoc advised Hiruma as straight forward as he dared knowing that Blake could hear them.

Hiruma frowned a moment before he realized what Malhavoc must have meant. Before he could load his bullet, Blake broke free and destroyed the last of the barrier. Zeke lept to his feet and pulled out his large bell.

"You're exhausted." Blake observed as he summoned several more zombies, this time so quickly and suddenly that everyone had been pinned down by surprise. "And I won't let anyone interfere with our reunion, my teacher."

"Any weaknesses yet?" Malhavoc asked Shin.

"He has less magic, but not much in the way of openings…." Shin muttered. "He's still the most powerful person in this room."

"Like the lot of you could defeat my zombies." Blake rolled his eyebrows and held up his hand to Zeke. **"Become your true age!"**

Zeke smirked and rang his bell once, making all the zombies in the room turn to ash.

"But I am my own age." Zeke protested as he rang his bell again. "And I'd love to see you counter this one."

Blake winced and fell back, putting his hands to his ears. Malhavoc simply stared at his brother.

"He's just hearing the screams of his victims." Zeke answered, letting out a long breath. "He can't hear us."

"You're exhausted." Malhavoc observed.

"So are you." Zeke snapped back.

"We're all fucking tired and hurt." Hiruma grunted.

"I gave you another opening, use it." Zeke ordered Hiruma flatly.

Hiruma simply held up his weapon and poured his own magic inside, then coated that magic with the magic he ate from Blake. Malhavoc walked over and cut his finger on Escarlaje.

"What are you-!?" Yukimitsu cried when the weapon in Malhavoc's hand began to shift and change shape. It didn't take long, but Escarlaje had turned into a bullet, with the red crystal at the tip. Without any waiting, Malhavoc tipped Akumetsu up and pulled Escarlaje down the barrel.

"Don't miss." Malhavoc told Hiruma simply.

"I see it!" Shin cried. "His magical center!"

"Where?" Hiruma asked, done concentrating and ready to fire.

"His left shoulder." Shin answered.

And Hiruma held up the gun, took aim, and fired.

_=_=_=_=_

And I leave you there.


	44. Epilouge: No Longer Hidden

Author's Note: Last chapter. I appologise for the shortness of the perivous one. But this story is rather long and I've grown tired of it. I feel like it got away from me a few times, and isn't the best thing I have out here. I would like to thank all of my readers and reviewers for sticking around with me until the end. Now here comes the final tieing of loose ends.

The Story So Far: They just had a nasty fight with Blake, how did it really end? It all well?

Hidden

By: Bar-Ohki

Epilogue: No Longer Hidden

"How fast are you anyways, you fucking elf?" Hiruma demanded. They were standing on Deimon High School's football field. They being everyone who had been personally involved with the final battle with Blake, especially the members of the Underground that were going to go home.

"Faster than a human." Malhavoc answered with a chuckle. "But slower than a grown Incubus."

"Fuck that, I'm taking your 40 yard dash time." Hiruma snorted. Malhavoc's speed hadn't been bothering, but it had bothered Sena enough that Hiruma decided to do something about before the elf disappeared into the depths of the Underground. Malhavoc chuckled some more and obliged Hiruma with a 40 yard dash.

4.0 seconds.

"That's as fast as I go." Malhavoc admitted with a grin and some pants.

"Shit!" Hiruma muttered, staring at his stopwatch.

"I'm not the fastest nor am I the slowest." Malhavoc remarked with a hum.

"Dad, no offense, but you are too chipper." Elec muttered.

"I get to see your mother tonight," Malhavoc grinned, "what's not to like?"

"You're not the only one going back to family." Kali smiled. "I'm so glad this mess is over."

"Now, Zork, I'll be back with Vanhi later to give you training." Dalboz explained to his son from his perch atop the unconscious Blake. Escarlaje was still logged in the man's shoulder in it's bullet form, keeping the magic source in his body from repairing itself. They were taking him back to the Underground where they could get the help of the magic users there to perminately brake Blake's magic source. After that, Malhavoc said he knew a man that specialized in sealing away evil, so they'd seal the evil inside Blake away.

'Ultimately Blake was a product of the Underground and the issues down there, so it the Underground's place to take care of him now that he's contained.' is what Elec had remarked on the matter earlier. 'Besides, I am going to inherit Escarlaje one day, and I'd rather it not be in Blake's shoulder…'

Zork had chosen to stay in the Upground to live with his brother. Hiruma didn't completely reject the idea, mainly because he knew there was going to be more than one headache caused by Zork in the future. Lotem had decided to return to the Underground, since Succubus don't raise their male children, their fathers do that.

Hiruma had talked to both his parents about what actually happened when he was conceived. It turned out time in the Underground does not always flow at the same rate as it did in the Upground and because of that difference Hiruma had been conceived when his father was 15, yet born when the man was 32.

Go figure.

Lotem, acknowledging Hiruma's need for proper magical training, was sending his second cousin, Soylala, who happened to be about his age, up to Upground to start teaching Hiruma basic Succubus magics. But Soylala wasn't supposed to arrive until next week, Upground time. Not being completely thrilled with that development, Hiruma decided he'd take these issues one at a time.

Find a place for Zork, then one for his cousin.

Since the Elders of the Eastern Ocean Isles had been greatly reduced, namely down to Yuuya and Tsubasa, both said they would allow Doburoku back and that they would fight for Hiruma's political independence from the government of the magic of the Upground. This was one of the few blessings.

Ayla was appointed to be a sort of secretary and was officially on political asylum in Japan. She personally oversaw the massive memory-altering of the people of Japan (since the Blake incident had to be kept under wraps).

Both the girl Rae and the bus driver were finally returned to England, with altered memories of their confused and odd adventures being kidnapped by terrorists. The bus never did make it back to the Upground, it is instead on a display at the Upground Museum of the Univeristy of All Magics (even the boring and obsurce!) of the Cross Roads. Lotem promised to pay for both Hiruma and Zork's magical educations there once they were doing fooling around in the Upground.

The night before they had had a goodbye party and victory party. It turns out, even though elves are long living and magically very powerful, they have fragile stomachs and get sick extremely easily. Malhavoc took a bite of cake, remarked that it probably didn't agree with him, then proceeded to spend the rest of the evening puking.

None of the other elves touched the food after that. That morning two of the mages under Elec had fevers of some sort. Elec blamed the funny stuff in the air of the Upground. Malhavoc asked the mages why they didn't shield themselves from the toxins of the Upground air and they told him to go screw himself.

Because Zork was going to become the Dungeon Master when he returned to the Underground, they had to create a Doorway to the Undergound nearby where Zork would be living. After some consulting with Kurita the monk, they decied that they'd make one on the Deimon schoolgrounds. The Elders, along with Mamori, would be casting the enchanments that would keep the Upgrounders out of the Doorway needlessly.

Mamori, as it turned out, didn't suffer any other concequences than temporary loss of conciousness and magical power from using the Old Word earlier.

"Well Youichi," Malhavoc distrupted Hiruma's thoughts, "I owe you my life."

"Oh?" Hiruma smirked.

"Which means I owe you one heck of a favor sometime." Malhavoc translated. "Come to my house and I'll do everything I can to repay it, until then, beautiful risings. Acaia, bamboo, clover, oak, and elder flower."

"And aye to that!" The rest of the elves agreed as they formed a circle with Zeke in the middle. The rest of the soldiers, Kali, and Blake formed an outer circle. The rest backed away and watched as Zeke opened a portal. A giant white door appeared at their feet, it opened up and the group fell down into it. The door shut and disappeared, leaving no trace of the Undergrounders.

"…There's no magic there!" Shin gasped.

"That's because the fucking door's in the clubhouse." Hiruma snorted. Komusubi and Dalboz had made the Doorway that morning.

"It's not big enough to take a group that large." Doburoku commented. "And besides, the Undergrounders have no desire to create melfins, on either side."

"So that's it?" Sakuraba asked.

"Until next week when my fucking cousin shows up." Hiruma rolled his eyes.

"Hey, Hiruma-san," Sena asked, "when's the next practice?"

"Right now! Ya-ha!" Hiruma pulled out various other firearms and used them to start up a much delayed football practice. Zork joined Mamori on the slide lines, helping with towels and learning the duties of a secretary. Cerberus ran around terrorizing the player's are Hiruma's command. Hiruma picked up a football, smiled, and threw it.

The team didn't treat him any different, because to them he had always been Hiruma Youichi, Commander from Hell, and that wasn't going to change just because they found out he was secretly a Half-Succubus. That was the real hidden truth, they liked Hiruma for the person he was and didn't see anything else besides that.

_=_=_=_=_

Its over! Thank you for reading, reviewing, favoriting and all that wonderful stuff! Just so you know, this story was 255 pages in total length, with almost 80,000 words. By far the longest story I have ever written. Thank you all! I hope to see you again in other stories, yours or mine.


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